Search results

The OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a survey of the knowledge and skills of 15 year olds that was first carried out in 2000 and repeated every three years to measure the changes that take place over time. This report presents the findings of the Australian Indigenous students in comparison with other Australian students and to students in other countries, and also examines some of the characteristics of the Indigenous students. Among the findings are: performance of the Indigenous students is at a lower level than the non-Indigenous students and below the OECD mean; gender differences are similar to the other Australian students, with females performing better than males in reading literacy; and there are differences in the learning strategies, learning preferences and behaviours of Indigenous students compared to non-Indigenous students, with Indigenous students having less preference for a competitive learning environment and being less likely to use elaboration and control strategies. The contents are: Executive summary; Introduction; Reporting results in PISA; PISA in Australia; Who were the participants; Results on the literacy measures; Results using proficiency levels; Performance differences in relation to background characteristics; Other student characteristics; Students' reading habits; Learning strategies; Learning preferences and behaviours; Comparing learning strategies, learning preferences and behaviours for Indigenous students; The learning environment; Learning outside school; Familiarity and competency in using computers; High and low achieving Indigenous students; Conclusion.