The learning gain over one school year among 15-year-olds: An international comparison based on PISA

We compare the learning gain over one year of schooling among 15-year-old students in Austria, Brazil, Malaysia, Scotland (United Kingdom) and Singapore. Common metrics for reading, mathematics and science learning, as established by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), are used. In order to overcome the limitations of a cross-sectional, single-cohort design, we combine multiple vintages of PISA data and exploit the fact that the testing period in these countries varied over the years. The results show that students' yearly learning progress around the age of 15 varies from about one-tenth of a standard deviation in students' test scores in Malaysia to about one-fourth of a standard deviation or more in Austria and Scotland.