How does the United States compare with other nations in terms of the proportion of students performing at the lowest proficiency levels? The international assessments Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), and Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) report the percentage of students in each participating nation and sub-national or non-national education system performing at each of several proficiency levels. The most recent U.S. results on international assessments are from PIRLS 2006, TIMSS 2007, and PISA 2009 and cover reading, mathematics, and science literacy.

NCES used the International Data Explorer to compare the percentage of low-performing students in the United States and other participating nations (and sub-national or non-national education systems) in reading, mathematics, and science at grades 4 and 8 and age 15. Low-performing students at grades 4 and 8 are defined as those failing to reach the Low International Benchmark on the PIRLS (reading) or TIMSS (mathematics and science) assessments. At age 15, they are defined as those failing to reach PISA Proficiency Level 2. For more information about proficiency levels for each international assessment, see About This Analysis.

Results:
At grade 4, nine education systems had less than 5 percent of students performing at the lowest proficiency levels in any subject, including Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong-China, Japan, Latvia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, the Netherlands, Quebec-Canada, and Singapore (though Japan, Massachusetts, and Minnesota did not participate in grade 4 reading).

>The United States had around 5 percent low-performing students in each subject at grade 4: 4 percent in reading, 5 percent in mathematics, and 6 percent in science.

> Six out of the 45 education systems had at least 40 percent of low-performing 4th graders in reading, and 8 out of the 43 participating education systems had at least 40 percent low-performing 4th graders across both mathematics and science.

At grade 8, the Republic of Korea, Japan, and Minnesota all had less than 5 percent low-performing students in both mathematics and science (reading was not assessed internationally at grade 8).

>In both mathematics and science, 8 percent of U.S. 8th graders were low performers.

>Eleven of the 56 education systems had at least 40 percent of low-performing 8th graders across both mathematics and science.

At age 15, only Shanghai-China had 5 percent or less of low-performing students in any subject.

>About one in five U.S. 15-year-olds were low performers in reading (18 percent), mathematics (23 percent), and science (18 percent).

>Nineteen of the 65 participating education systems had at least 40 percent low-performing 15-year-olds in all three subjects and 23 had at least 40 percent low-performing 15-year-olds in at least one subject.

In both reading and mathematics , the United States had three times the percentage of low-performing 15-year-olds as it did low-performing 4th graders; in science, the United States had twice the percentage of low-performing 15-year-olds as it did low-performing 4th graders.

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To download the International Data Explorer output on which this page is based, please use the links below:

• mathematics grade 4
• mathematics grade 8
• mathematics age 15
• reading grade 4
• reading age 15
• science grade 4
• science grade 8
• science age 15

This analysis was produced using the NCES International Data Explorer, a web-based data tool that allows users to quickly and easily produce tables, charts, and maps comparing the performance and educational contexts of students in the United States and nations (and sub-national or non-national education systems) around the world. The International Data Explorer is available at:

http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/international/IDE

This analysis compares participating education systems (in most cases nations, but in some cases sub-national or non-national entities) with the international average in terms of the percentage of students scoring at the lowest proficiency levels on PIRLS, TIMSS, and PISA.

>For reading at grade 4 and mathematics and science at grades 4 and 8, the lowest proficiency level is defined as those failing to reach the TIMSS and PIRLS Low International Benchmark (a score of 400 where the mean is 500 and standard deviation (s.d.) is 100). The International Average is the average of all participating education systems.

>For reading, mathematics, and science at age 15, the lowest proficiency level is defined as those failing to reach PISA level 2 (in reading, the threshold score is 407, where the mean is 493 and the s.d. is 100; in mathematics, the threshold score is 420, where the mean is 496 and the s.d. is 100; and in science, the threshold score is 409, where the mean is 501 and the s.d. is 100). The OECD Average is the average of OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries, which is a group of 34 industrialized countries.

Descriptions of the knowledge and skills associated with the PIRLS, TIMSS, and PISA proficiency levels are available in the PIRLS International Benchmarks (reading grade 4 on page 4), the TIMSS International Benchmarks (mathematics grades 4 and 8 on page 13; science grades 4 and 8 on page 38), and the PISA Proficiency Levels (reading at age 15 on page 10, mathematics at age 15 on page 19, and science at age 15 on page 25).

Suggested Citation: Warren, L. K. (2012). Low-Performing Students: Percentage of U.S. Students at the Lowest Proficiency Levels Relative to International Peers on the Most Recent International Assessments in Reading, Mathematics, and Science: Results from PIRLS 2006, TIMSS 2007, and PISA 2009. U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved [date], from http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/international/reports/2012-lps-mrs.asp.

The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS): is an international comparative study of the reading literacy of fourth-grade students. The most recent PIRLS data are from 2006, when 45 education systems participated. For more information on PIRLS, please visit: http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/PIRLS

The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS): is an international comparative study of the mathematics and science achievement of fourth- and eighth-grade students. The most recent TIMSS data are from 2007, when 36 education systems and 7 benchmarking jurisdictions participated at grade 4 and 48 education systems and 8 benchmarking jurisdictions participated at grade 8. For more information on TIMSS, please visit: http://nces.ed.gov/TIMSS

The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA): is an international comparative study of the capabilities of 15-year-old students in mathematics, reading , and science literacy. The most recent PISA data are from 2009, when 65 education systems participated. For more information on PISA, please visit: http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/PISA