PISA 2012 Results on the Financial Literacy of 15-year-olds

Data is now available on the performance of U.S. 15-year-old students on a first-ever administration of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) financial literacy assessment.

The PISA financial literacy assessment was conducted in 18 of the 65 education systems that participated in the main PISA 2012, and assessed students’ knowledge and understanding of fundamental elements of the financial world, including financial concepts, products, and risks.

The study was coordinated internationally by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), an intergovernmental organization of industrialized countries.

Results include the average scores for the United States and other education systems, as well as the percentages of students reaching five proficiency levels in financial literacy.

Findings include:

•    Average scores in financial literacy ranged from 603 in Shanghai-China to 379 in Colombia. The U.S. average was 492, which was not measurably different from the average of the participating OECD countries (500).

•    Percentages of top performing 15-year-old students (those scoring at level 5) in financial literacy ranged from 43 percent in Shanghai-China to 1 percent in Colombia. In the United States, 9 percent of 15-year-old students scored at proficiency level 5.

•    The percentage of 15-year-old students scoring below level 2, which is considered a baseline of proficiency by the OECD, ranged from 2 percent in Shanghai-China to 56 percent in Colombia. In the United States, 18 percent of 15-year-old students were low performers.


View the Data Point on PISA financial literacy at
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2014102

View the full set of financial literacy data tables at
http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/pisa/pisa2012/pisa2012highlights_12.asp