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1. Japan

2. Trends in student performance that I;ve noticed was that girls tend to fear failure more than the boys when it comes to their academics. A trend that I’ve also noticed is that students ages 15 and up are always at the top of the charts when it comes to excelling in education and always at the bottom when it comes to failure; in comparison to other countries. Lastly, another trend I’ve come across is that only the reading score points fluctuate semi-drastically, being that it was the only subject that had outliers pertaining to the score points. In relation to gender, the boys in Japan usually outperformed the girls academically and had less fluctuation between their grades.

3. Key findings of interest I’ve discovered is that Japanese students ages 15 and up, are on average smarter than students from other countries based on scores. I also discovered that as of recently, reading and science scores have been on decline

4. What I would like to find more about is their everyday practices and routines that allow them to stay ahead of the majority of countries at such a young

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1. I am interested in covering Finland

2. After reviewing the PISA information, I have learned that Finland students at 15 years old score higher in reading and mathematics on standardized compared to other OECD countries. Finland is on par with Canada, Estonia, Hong Kong (China), Ireland, Macao (China), Poland and Singapore (all of these countries performed at an average of Level 5 or 6 reading level and math level which is significantly higher than anyone else.

3. Some key findings that I found interesting in the PISA reading were that socioeconomic status had to do with performing better academically, which I thought was super interesting.

4. I would like to figure out what type of habits are implemented in the students school routines that makes them perform better academically.

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1.

I am interested in covering Australia.

2.

- After looking at the PISA results, it was said that students from Australia were bullied more and presented signs of loneliness and doubt in regards to their educational success.

-       1/3 boys expect themselves to be an engineer or science professional at 30 years old. in contrast, 1/5 girls expect this same statement. Boys were shown to expect to work in ICT jobs, where there were no girls.

-       Performance in reading for Australian students is steadily declining

-       Students scored higher than the OECD average in reading, science, and slightly math. Scores are comparable to students from Germany, New Zealand, Sweden, UK, and US.

3.

-       Something I found interesting in the PISA report was that 68% of students hold a growth mindset- that they can’t change their intelligence very much. I think this matches up with the data in terms of declining in different departments and being worried about failing a lot, but somewhat confusing considering that Australian students placed higher than average when asked if they can find a way out of a difficult situation.

-       I also thought it was interesting to see that students strongly agree that their teacher showed enjoyment in teaching. The statistics match up with this statement and show a direct relationship, showing that their students scored higher when they felt this way.

4.

Something that I am interested in learning about that was not listed In the PISA report is topics relating to mental health and how that affects their performance in school. Furthermore, I’d like to do more research on the basic curriculum and try to find a cause for the high levels of competition that many students feel.

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1. I am interested in covering Japan.

2. Trends in student performance:

-15 year old students scored higher than the OECD average in reading, math, and science.

-The gender gap in reading amongst students in Japan was narrower than the OECD average gap.

-Since 2009, girls' performance declined while boys' performance remained stable.

-Compared to the OECD average, in Japan, a larger proportion of students performed at the highest levels of proficiency in at least one subject

-However, at the same time a larger proportion of students achieved a minimum level of proficiency in at least one subject.

3. Key findings of interest:

-Students in Japan reported one of the highest levels of fear of failure (77%).

-50% of students reported they are satisfied with their lives.

-17% of students reported being bullied, and 93% of students think joining in bullying is wrong.

4. What I'd like to know more about:

I would really like to dive deeper on the fact that a large portion of students in Japan are afraid to fail. Are they putting too much pressure on themselves? This could be looked at through investigating the mental health of students in Japan. Also, based on the statistics about bullying, it seems as though students in Japan are very disciplined and have good morals. I would like to know if there are different rules and regulations at schools in Japan regarding bullying as I feel most schools in the United States struggle with the issue of bullying and could use some guidance possibly from other countries like Japan.

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1. I am interested in covering France.

2. In France, students scored 493 points in reading, which is slightly above the average. This was similar to some other countries including Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, and Portugal. The students in France also scored slightly above average for science and mathematics. In France, one in three boys is expected to work as an engineer or science profession at 30 years old, while one in four girls are expected to work in health related professions.

3. I think that one of the key findings of interests that I discovered are the statistics about the students’ well being. I think that this is very important. The article discusses that students in France had a greater fear of failure and less self efficacy than other OECD countries. A majority of students also said that when they are failing, they are scared that they may not have enough talent and in turn, they are scared that they will not succeed in the future. I think that this can be a reflection on the education system because they may not be supporting their students.

4. I am interested in learning about whether anything has changed or any changes are being put in place that will help to change the education system since this article is from 2018 and there were multiple complaints made about the education system and the way things were run.

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1. The country I will be focusing on is France.

2. In France, 78% of students attained Level 2 or higher in mathematics (OECD average: 76%). At a minimum, these students can interpret and recognize, without direct instructions, how a (simple) situation can be represented mathematically.

3. A couple key findings I found were how "Girls expressed a lack of self-confidence more often than boys. In France, almost three in four girls, but one in two boys, reported that when they are failing, they are afraid that they might not have enough talent, or it makes them doubt their plans for the future." This is so upsetting to hear that they feel this way. Maybe if the education system is changed to students directing their learning the girls would not feel this way. It is super interesting to me because this summer I was enrolled in a short term study abroad course in Bordeaux France. We were students in a Bordeaux college while learning we got to meet students and ask them all different types of questions and nothing ever came up about it. So I am wondering if this statistic has to do with younger girls?

4. I read that "Some 13% of immigrant students scored in the top quarter of reading performance in France (OECD average: 17%)." I am interested in finding out country has the top scored students.

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1. I wish to investigate Italy

2. Italy scored below the OECD average in reading and science, and around the OECD average in mathematics. Mean performance in Italy declined, after 2012, in reading and science, and remained stable (and above the level observed in 2003 and 2006) in mathematics. Reading performance declined, in particular, amongst girls (and remained stable among boys). Science performance declined most markedly amongst the highest-achieving students, by a similar amount for both boys and girls.n 2018, 10% of students in Italy had an immigrant background, up from 6% in 2009; and almost half of them were amongst the quarter of the most socio-economically disadvantaged students in Italy. Still, 14% of immigrant students scored in the top quarter of reading performance in Italy and were amongst the country’s highest-achieving students. In Italy, boys outperformed girls in mathematics by 16 score points, which was wider than the average gender gap in mathematics across OECD countries (5 score points). While girls slightly outperformed boys in science (by two score points) on average across OECD countries in PISA 2018, in Italy girls and boys performed similarly in science.

3. Some key findings that I found in the article about Italy were that 91% of their students reported they were happy which was really cool to hear how awesome it must be to go to school there. science performance declined most markedly amongst the highest-achieving students.

4. I would like to find out more about how italy works on creating a positive environment for their students, and how they speak on behalf of mental health within the students

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I would like to do my research on the UK for my project. WHile looking at the trends its important to note similarities and performance. The performance shows scores ranging higher in subjects as reading, but reading has remains similar since 2006, math, and science is where the boys and the girls get the same scores.  Many countries have similarities with the UK performance wise. Australia, Belgium, Germany, Norway, New Zealand, Sweden and the US. I expected the UK to be higher than the US. 15 year olds girls often outscore the boys. Scoring above average in reading and ,math. I found it interesting that immagrants outscored the non immagrants. I would like to know about their immigration statistics and why they are outsourcing non imaggrants because i believe that can lead us to other countries and study them.

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1.     I’m interested in covering Italy for my final project.

2.     Italy’s trends in student performance declined in certain subjects. Science and reading were below the OECD average, while mathematics remained average. Science performance declined mainly in high-achieving students regardless of gender, reading performance declined mainly in girls and remained stable in boys. In all three of these subjects, the mean performance in Italy was lower than in many countries such as Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Absences in class caused more learning loss for 15-year-old students in Italy. The OECD average is 21%, but 57% of students had not attended school for a day in the two weeks before the PISA test in Italy. Also, 30% of students in Italy said that most lessons in their language of instruction start late because the teacher must wait for students to settle down.

3.     Some key findings I found interesting were that In Italy, 24% of students reported being bullied at least a few times a month, compared to 23% on average across OECD countries. A higher percentage of students in Italy (30%) than the OECD average (26%) said that their language teacher often must wait for the class to be quiet. This affects their reading scores negatively. After considering socio-economic status, students in Italy who said this happens in most or every lesson scored 21 points lower in reading than those who said this rarely or never happens.

4.     I’d like to find out more about the behavioral issues within schooling in Italy, as it seems to be a big reason for the below-average scores. I’d like to look more into bullying, class disruptions, and skipping. I’d also like to look at how these factors affect the mental health of students in Italy based on age and gender.

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1. I am interested in covering Italy.

2. Mean performance in Italy declined in reading and science, and remained stable in mathematics. Reading performance declined for girls and remained stable among boys. Science performance declined with the highest-achieving students, by a similar amount for both boys and girls. In Italy, 77% of students attained at least Level 2 proficiency in reading, 76% of students in Italy attained Level 2 or higher in mathematics, and 74% of students in Italy attained Level 2 or higher in science.

3. In Italy, 67% of students reported that they are satisfied with their lives, and 91% of students in Italy reported sometimes or always feeling happy, and about 6% of students reported always feeling sad. It is interesting to see how even though the country is declining in OECD averages, the majority of students are still relatively happy.

4. I would like to find out more about students’ mental health in regards to their schooling and education. The report shows studies on emotions of students, but I would like to learn more about the affects mental health has on students in Italy in comparison to the U.S., where mental health among students is extremely prevalent.

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1. I am interested in covering Australia for my final project.

2. One in three boys in Australia are expected to work in the sciences or engineering by the age of the while for girls it is only one in five. Also one in three high-performing girls are expected to go into health related professions and one in six high-performing boys. Boys outperformed girl in math by 6 points.

3. One of the key findings in the PISA report about Australia was that 29% of the immigrant scored in the top quarter of the reading performance in Australia while the average of other OECD countries is only 17%.

4. One thing that I would like to learn more about that is not included in the report is how their school curriculum is set up in comparison to ours in the US that is causing this positive impact in test scores among natives of Australia and in immigrants.

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1.     I am interested in covering Portugal.

2.     One in every two 15-year-old boys expect to work as engineers. Whereas one in every two 15-year-old girls expects to work in a healthcare related career. These expectation follow the pretty tradition gender stereotypes for female and male professions. In 2018 students scored average scores in reading, mathematics, and science. This mean is lower than the one that was calculated using the 2015 test scores however the scores have been improving steadily since then.

3.     One interesting fact about Portugal that I learned from the PISA is fewer students are reposting acts of bulling instead they are reporting strong antibullying attitudes in comparison to many of the other averages.

4.     What is the biggest difference that Portugal is implementing that is causing this positive trend in their test scores in recent years? Once this is determined how can other countries implement similar tactics to improve their students’ scores and education systems overall?

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1. The country I would like to investigate is France

2. For reading students scored around a 493 in reading which is higher than the average at 487. Then for math they also scored above average at around 495 points where the average is around 489 points, and finally they scored over average for science as well with a score of 493 where the average is 489.

3. One of the most important key findings in my opinion is that socioeconomic status in France plays a major role in academic performance linearly in that with increase in status there is also an increase in performance. In general, it is believed that those with socioeconomic advantage had higher scores by at least 107 points from those at lower statuses. However, around 9.5 percent of disadvantaged students did hit scores above average which also shows it isn't an end all be all limiting factor. Also, in terms of gender, girls seemed to outperform the boys by around 25 points higher for reading, while boys outperformed the girls by around 6 points higher in math, and overall boys and girls seemed to perform the same in science. This matches the general OECD gender gaps, however! I also think it was interesting that students seemed to feel that they had more peer support than support from their teachers, where some other countries felt they had better support from teachers, however the peer support is consistent across the other countries. Finally, French students reported that the misbehavior in class is extremely concerning to their learning compared to other countries, and France has actually scored alongside two other countries as having one of the lowest disciplinary climates.

4. One thing that I would like to learn more about regarding education in France is the average school day schedule. I visited France when I was 11 and was fascinated by the fact that they spend more time in school during the day than we do in the US and one of the reasons for this is that they often get a built in lunch break where they are able to go home, so I am more curious about how they design their days and how that could be helping students perform better!

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1. Italy

2. In 2018 Italy scored below the OECD average in reading and science. Italy scored around the average in mathematics. Their mean in performance declined after 2012 in reading and science while mathematics stayed the same. Reading declined with girls but maintained a stable level with boys. Science declined for both boys and girls.

3. In all three subjects Italy's mean score was lower than most counties

4. Only 1 in 4 boys is expected to work as an engineer or a similar science professional by the age of 30 but with girls its 1 in 8. 1 in 4 girls is expected to work in a health related profession while only 1 in 9 for boys. I would like to know why they are so focused on gender and how to get more students interested in those jobs.

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1: Greece

2: Students in greece scored lowered on average reading mathetics and science than the OECD by about 20-30 points.Compared to the OECD average, a smaller proportion of students in Greece performed at the highest levels of proficiency (Level 5 or 6) in at least one subject; at the same time a smaller proportion of students achieved a minimum level of proficiency (Level 2 or higher) in at least one subject.In Greece, 69% of students attained at least Level 2 proficiency in reading (OECD average: 77%). At a minimum, these students can identify the main idea in a text of moderate length, find information based on explicit, though sometimes complex criteria, and can reflect on the purpose and form of texts when explicitly directed to do so. • Some 4% of students in Greece were top performers in reading, meaning that they attained Level 5 or 6 in the PISA reading test (OECD average: 9%). At these levels, students can comprehend lengthy texts, deal with concepts that are abstract or counterintuitive, and establish distinctions between fact and opinion, based on implicit cues pertaining to the content or source of the information. In 20 education systems, including those of 15 OECD countries, more than 10% of 15-year-old students were top performers.ome 64% of students in Greece attained Level 2 or higher in mathematics (OECD average: 76%). At a minimum, these students can interpret and recognise, without direct instructions, how a (simple) situation can be represented mathematically (e.g. comparing the total distance across two alternative routes, or converting prices into a different currency). The share of 15-year-old students who attained minimum levels of proficiency in mathematics (Level 2 or higher) varied widely – from 98% in Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang (China) to 2% in Zambia, which participated in the PISA for Development assessment in 2017. On average across OECD countries, 76% of students attained at least Level 2 proficiency in mathematics. • In Greece, 4% of students scored at Level 5 or higher in mathematics (OECD average: 11%). Six Asian countries and economies had the largest shares of students who did so: Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang (China) (44%), Singapore (37%), Hong Kong (China) (29%), Macao (China) (28%), Chinese Taipei (23%) and Korea (21%). These students can model complex situations mathematically, and can select, compare and evaluate appropriate problem-solving strategies for dealing with them.Some 68% of students in Greece attained Level 2 or higher in science (OECD average: 78%). At a minimum, these students can recognise the correct explanation for familiar scientific phenomena and can use such knowledge to identify, in simple cases, whether a conclusion is valid based on the data provided. • In Greece, 1% of students were top performers in science, meaning that they were proficient at Level 5 or 6 (OECD average: 7%). These students can creatively and autonomously apply their knowledge of and about science to a wide variety of situations, including unfamiliar ones

3.In Greece, socio-economically advantaged students outperformed disadvantaged students in reading by 84 score points in PISA 2018. This is not significantly different from the average difference between the two groups (89 score points) across OECD countries. In PISA 2009, the performance gap related to socio-economic status was 91 score points in Greece (and 87 score points on average across OECD countries).

4. I would like to examin more the level of education in relation to gender identity

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1. Luxembourg

2. Students in Luxembourg scored lower than the OECD average in reading, mathematics and science. Compared to the OECD average, in Luxembourg, a smaller proportion of students performed at the highest levels of proficiency (Level 5 or 6) in at least one subject; at the same time a smaller proportion of students achieved a minimum level of proficiency (Level 2 or higher) in all three subjects. Students in Luxembourg scored 483 points in mathematics in PISA 2018, slightly below the OECD average (489 score points). Students in Luxembourg scored 477 points in science in PISA 2018, slightly below the OECD average (489 score points). Students in Luxembourg scored 470 points in reading in PISA 2018, below the OECD average (487 score points). In all countries and economies that participated in PISA 2018, girls significantly outperformed boys in reading – by 30 score points on average across OECD countries, and by 29 score points in Luxembourg. The gender gap in reading in Luxembourg was narrower in 2018 than in 2009 (39 score points), although boys’ performance remained stable over the period.

3. The link between socio-economic status and performance in PISA is stronger in Luxembourg than in any other PISA-participating country.

4. I would like to know more about the breakdown of scores throughout the grades and different age groups. The PISA assessment is only taken by 15 year old’s but I would be interested to know about other ages as well.

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1.) The country I wish to cover is Finland.

2.) The research shows that in Finland, fifteen-year old females performed better than males in all three subjects included int the assessment which were reading, math, and science. Even though this country's mean scores fall above the OECD averages in all subjects, the performance trends have began to drop since 2006. Finland's disadvantaged students have also scored in the top quarter of reading performance, which is higher than the OECD average.

3.) Some key findings that I found of interest in the PISA report are that Finland's students are bullied less, miss school less often, and are overall more happy or satisfied with their lives when compared to the OECD average percentages. Although these all are more student focused, rather than educational, I believe these statistics are still important because it plays into their educational environment and willingness to learn.

4.) I would like to find out more about the actual process they use to teach their students. I am wondering what they may be doing differently in comparison to the United States and if we can possibly implement these processes into our own school systems. One other thing I would like to learn more about is how students of other ages answers compare to these.

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1. The country I am interested in covering is Australia.

2.  Trends in student performance:

-Students scored higher than the OECD average in reading (503) and science (503), but not significantly different than the math average

- Performance rates in all areas have been declining since 2003

-Student performance less strongly associated with socio-economic status than on average across OECD countries

-High math and science performing students: 1 in 3 boys and 1 in 5 girls expect to be an engineer or science professional by 30

-29% immigrant students scored in the top quarter in reading

-Socio-economically advantaged students outperformed disadvantaged students in reading by 89 points

3. Key findings of interest:

-Australian students reported being bullied more frequently (30%), were more afraid of failing, and more likely to have skipped school (21%) and feel lonely at school (19%)

-Student competition more prevalent than on average across OECD countries (64%)

- 68% of students have a growth mindset- 63% on average across countries

-Girls significantly outperformed boys in reading, boys outperformed girls in math, girls and boys performed similarly in science

-Less staff and material shortage than the OECD average

-Many students are less ambitious- do not expect tertiary education

-28% of students come from an immigrant background; 1 in 4 are socio-economically disadvantaged

4.  What I’d like to know more about:

-Why are these students feeling more lonely and targeted at schools in Australia than in any other OECD country?

-Why do they feel they are in competition with their peers?

-Why are these students less ambitious; what is causing them to believe they cannot obtain higher education even when they have high test scores?

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1) I plan to explore the United Kingdom for my final project.

2) The research shows that in the United Kingdom, fifteen-year-old students scored above average in reading, math, and science. Girls seemed to have higher scores than boys on average. Another trend was immigrant students outperforming their non-immigrant peers in multiple reading.

3) Some key findings I found necessary were the comparisons to other countries. "The United Kingdom’s average performance was not statistically significantly different from that of Australia, Belgium, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, and the United States in at least two of the three subjects." This is somewhat expected as I feel like these countries have a lot in common. Another important concept I found was that on average, the UK had a higher rate of bullying which I found surprising, but could affect the results of their scores.

4) Something I would like to learn more about that is not included in the report is possibly a separate set of statistics for those who do not identify as a boy or girl and see if it has any affects in their score.

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1. I plan to do research on Italy's education system.

2. In the research, it shows that girls have a better reading capability than boys doing in Italy. Although, girls still show a better reading performance, it has drastically decreased over the past few years. Girl and boys in science academically preform around the same from an academic standpoint. Statistics show that 1 in 4 boys will proceed an engineer career, while 1 in 4 girls with pursue a health profession career. The research is based off of reading, math, and science. The research was based off of 15 year olds.

3. A key finding in the PISA report that I found interesting was the statistic about emotions shown in difficult situations. In Italy's education system girls show greater fear or failure than boys. I found this interesting because they are not so much scared of the fact of failing, they fear what others will think about them.

4. I would like to see more of the same statistic with a wider age range to see a variety amongst the grade level. Right now, it is only 15 year olds, which I feel like is the age range with the most stress. Seeing different age range academic statistics will help me get a better idea how to Italian education system is actually ran and what I would do differently if I were in their shoes,

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1. I plan to research Italy for my project.

2. Some trends in student performance are that science declined amongst the most highly-achieving students, the same for boys and girls. However, reading declined specifically amongst girls, but boys remained at the same level. Additionally, compared to 15 year old students in other countries, Italy missed out on more school and learning time due to absences and being disciplined in class such as detention, suspension, etc.

3. Key findings if my interest in Italy are that in all 3 subjects, Italy's average performance was less than Belgium, France, Germany, the Neverlands, Poland, Slovenia, Sweden, and the UK(and other countries). Additionally, after 2012, the average performance in Italy declined in reading and science but remained the same in math. Lastly, in 2018 Italy scored below the OECD average in science and reading, and was around average in math.

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I am going to research the UK for my project. Some key points in these educational findings include a general similarity in performance to Australia, Belgium, Germany, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, and the US. Reading and science performance has remained about the same since 2006, but math improved by 9 points from 2015-2018. Girls seem to be scoring higher in both reading and math, and boys and girls seem to be scoring the same in science. 15 year old students scored above averages in reading math and science. Something that I found interesting included an increase in immigrant students from 2009-2018 - 11% to 20%. While immigrant students performed worse than their non-immigrant peers, 21% of these immigrant students scored in the top quarter of reading performance. I would love to learn more about these immigrant students, considering England has a lot of that demographic and I want to see how it can affect statistics and whatnot.

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I plan to research Italy for my final project. While looking at the trends in student performance, Italy scored about average in mathematics in 2018 but below the OECD average in reading and science. After 2012, Italy's average performance in reading and science decreased, while in mathematics stayed steady and above the levels noted in 2003 and 2006. Particularly among girls, reading performance decreased (and stayed stable among boys). The highest-achieving students saw the biggest fall in science achievement, which was comparable for boys and girls. Additionally, I found that 10% of Italian students in 2018 were of immigrant descent, up from 6% in 2009. Three out of every seven of these immigrant students had financial difficulties. Another thing I thought was interesting was that 91% of students said they were happy sometimes or always, while 6% said they were depressed all the time. Students were more likely to express grief when they were bullied more frequently and more likely to report good feelings when they reported a higher sense of belonging at school and greater student collaboration in the majority of nations and economies. The last key finding I found was In the two weeks leading up to the PISA test, 21% of students in OECD nations missed one day of class and 48% of students were tardy. During that time, 57% of students in Italy missed a day of class, and 45% of students came late. Bullied students were more likely to skip school in most nations and economies, while students who valued education, had better disciplinary environments, and had more parental emotional support were less likely to have done so. Some other things I would like to learn more about that is not included in this report is their teaching methodology, as well as what would students enjoy to do outside of the classroom.

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I intend to research Finland in Europe for my final project. Finland is reputed to have a highly effective educational system. Even though Finland is performing better than the norm in math, reading, and science, several other nations are reportedly "outperforming" Finland. Finland has one of the largest reading gender gaps among all the 2018 PISA participating nations and economies. Over time, both boys' and girls' performance fell, and in 2009, neither gender truly surpassed the other. However, over time in 2018, girls did exceed boys in reading. Additionally, it was discovered in 2018 that females surpassed boys in science by 24 points, which was unusual in other OECD nations. Additionally, I discovered that non-immigrant students outperformed immigrants by an average of 92 score points on Finland's reading proficiency tests. Personalized learning, teamwork, and enjoyable student engagement are the main teaching strategies used in Finland. Additionally, there are no punishments for the students, and the only forms of discipline are a courteous demeanor and the willingness to challenge assumptions. In Finland, a test called the National Matriculation Examination is used to gauge college preparation. Students must pass this test in order to graduate from high school and enroll in a university. Throughout this research, it  surprised me much that these learners are not disciplined, that girls outperformed boys in science and reading, and that there is a test to determine whether or not the students are prepared to continue their education in college. As I continue my research, I'd like to learn more about Finland's population, the teaching methodology, and why it has one of the most effective educational systems despite many other nations scoring higher than Finland.