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On 4 December 2007, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) published a report (PISA 2006: science competencies for tomorrow's world) based on tests, carried out in 2006 in 57 countries, which tested students on how much they knew about science and their ability to use scientific knowledge and understanding to identify and address questions and resolve problems in daily life.
PISA is a three-yearly survey of the knowledge and skills of 15-year-olds in OECD member countries and partner countries and economies. The product of collaboration between participating countries through OECD, it draws on leading international expertise to develop valid comparisons across countries and cultures.
The top performer in science in PISA 2006 was Finland, followed by Hong Kong-China, Canada, Chinese Taipei, Estonia, Japan and New Zealand. Australia, the Netherlands, Korea, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium and Ireland, Liechtenstein, Slovenia and Macao-China also scored above OECD average. Data for science in PISA 2006 are not directly comparable to data in the previous studies as the nature of the tests has changed.