Achievement in International Tests

Test results from TIMSS, PIRLS and PISA for all participating countries and entities in the Middle East are analyzed across countries by cycle and school grade (4 and 8) or age (15 years). For each grade or age, the analysis reveals which countries performed better in one cycle and at which international benchmark: low, intermediate, high, and advanced. Fourth and eighth graders in all countries, except Israel, performed poorly in both mathematics and science in 2011, but most improved significantly in 2019 despite failing to attain the international median scores. Only Dubai, Israel and Turkey exceeded the international median. Between 2011 and 2019, the greatest percentage increase in average scores for eighth graders was in Bahrain for mathematics and in Qatar for science while the greatest decrease in both mathematics and science was in Lebanon. In TIMSS mathematics and science for both fourth and eighth graders, the percentages of students reaching the international benchmarks increased between 2011 and 2019 in most countries. In PIRLS reading, the percentages of fourth graders reaching the international benchmarks increased between 2011 and 2016 in four out of nine countries. In PISA, no country reached the median scores of OECD in reading, mathematics, or science in any cycle.