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On 3 December 2019, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) had published one of its survey - The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) report, which represents the results of 79 participating countries, including Georgia. In PISA program Georgian students scored lower than the OECD average.  It is also worth mentioning that compared to the previous report the situation in Georgia has significantly worsened. 

In Georgia, 5 572 students, in 326 schools, completed the assessment. Georgia, compared to 2015, worsened its positions in each component. In Particular, students scored 380 in literacy, while PISA average is 487. The same is for mathematics. Georgia’s average showed up 398, less than PISA average- 489. In science, Georgian students got 383, below than international average - 489. 

Unlike other studies, it can be said that PISA research is one of the most important and accountable because it focuses on the general policy of education and determines the various factors of teaching and learning. 

PISA demonstrates students' situational skills and opportunities for information analysis, reasoning, and effective communication based on the knowledge they have. Regular implementation of the program allows analyzing the situation in the general education system in time.

Analyzing the results of PISA is very important for the Georgian education system, while the Ministry of Education does not have a more realistic tool for assessing the situation in the general education area. With the abolition of the final exams in 2019, the ministry has taken away even the only quantitative indicator that, one way or another, still gives us dry data on general competencies of students. In a situation like this, it is difficult to say how to improve the general abilities of the students. Especially since the Ministry of Education does not have a unified vision for improving the situation. Almost every year we hear static information about the announcement of various reforms, but in Georgian reality often these reforms fail and the reason is simple – usually in strictly centralized system reforms are tied to the minister and his team, and according to statistics, the most changeable minister in Georgia is the minister of education. 

For more and detailed information on the results and reasons, see the attached file, which represents analysis of Irina Gurgenashvili, a Researcher at Gnomon Wise. 

Note: The full document is available only in Georgian.