Germany country note: results from PISA 2015

Students in Germany perform above the OECD average in all three domains assessed in PISA, namely science, reading and mathematics (Figures I.2.13, I.4.1 and I.5.1). Germany’s mean score in science has remained stable since 2006, when science was the main domain assessed. But the country’s mean score in science fell by 15 points since 2012 when science was a minor domain. The country’s mean score in reading has steadily improved since PISA 2000, while its mean mathematics performance has not changed significantly since 2003 (Tables I.2.4a, I.4.4a and I.5.4a). Some 11% of students in Germany are top performers in science – 3 percentage points higher than the OECD average (Table I.2.2a). As in the majority of OECD countries, a more socio-economically advantaged student in Germany scores more than 30 points higher in science (the equivalent of one year of schooling), on average, than a disadvantaged student (42 points in Germany). In Germany, 16% of the variation in student performance is associated with socio-economic status, which is above the OECD average (13%). However, this relationship has weakened by four percentage points in Germany since 2006 (Table I.6.17, and Figure I.6.17). In Germany, not only are there fewer girls than boys performing at or above Level 5 in science, but girls – even top-performing girls – are also less likely than boys to expect to work in a science-related occupation (Tables I.2.6a and I.3.10c).