PISA in Ukraine
PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) is an international study of education quality initiated by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). It assesses how well 15-year-old students can apply the knowledge and skills they have acquired in reading, mathematics and science to solve real-life problems and tasks.
PISA is the world’s largest international comparative study of 15-year-old students. It does not measure how well students have mastered a particular national curriculum. Instead, it focuses on their ability to use knowledge and skills in new, practical and real-world contexts.
PISA assesses three core domains:
- Reading — the ability to understand, use, evaluate and reflect on texts, and to engage with them in order to achieve one’s goals, develop one’s knowledge and participate in society.
- Mathematics — the ability to reason mathematically and to formulate, employ and interpret mathematics to solve problems in a variety of real-world contexts.
- Science — the ability to use scientific knowledge and skills to explain phenomena, evaluate scientific information and make informed decisions.
PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) is an international study of education quality initiated by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). It assesses how well 15-year-old students can apply the knowledge and skills they have acquired in reading, mathematics and science to solve real-life problems and tasks.
PISA is the world’s largest international comparative study of 15-year-old students. It does not measure how well students have mastered a particular national curriculum. Instead, it focuses on their ability to use knowledge and skills in new, practical and real-world contexts.
PISA assesses three core domains:
- Reading — the ability to understand, use, evaluate and reflect on texts, and to engage with them in order to achieve one’s goals, develop one’s knowledge and participate in society.
- Mathematics — the ability to reason mathematically and to formulate, employ and interpret mathematics to solve problems in a variety of real-world contexts.
- Science — the ability to use scientific knowledge and skills to explain phenomena, evaluate scientific information and make informed decisions.
Ukraine’s participation in PISA
Ukraine first participated in PISA in 2018. Since then, the country has taken part in three PISA cycles: PISA 2018, PISA 2022 and PISA 2025.
The PISA 2025 main survey in Ukraine was conducted in spring 2025. Around 9,000 15-year-old students from 298 schools across 17 regions of Ukraine took part. It was the second PISA cycle conducted in Ukraine during the full-scale war.
The results of PISA 2025 were released in September 2026. In Ukraine, students were assessed in science, mathematics and reading, as well as in the innovative domain Learning in the Digital World (LDW).
Participation in PISA enables Ukraine to:
- obtain reliable and internationally comparable data on the performance of 15-year-old students;
- monitor changes in student performance over time;
- examine educational and socio-economic factors associated with student outcomes;
- identify educational disparities between different groups of students;
- compare Ukraine’s results with those of other countries and economies;
- use evidence from the study to inform and improve education policy.
What else does PISA examine?
In addition to completing assessment tasks, PISA participants fill in questionnaires. In Ukraine, school principals also complete a questionnaire.
Questionnaire data help researchers better understand the context in which students learn. They provide information on students’ socio-economic background, educational experiences, attitudes towards learning, the learning environment, school resources, staffing, the organisation of the educational process and other factors that may be associated with educational outcomes.
All personal data collected as part of PISA are treated as confidential. Results are analysed and reported only in aggregated form.
How is PISA conducted?
Each PISA cycle includes several stages: the development and adaptation of assessment instruments, a field trial, the main data collection, data processing and analysis, and the preparation of international and national reports.
In Ukraine, PISA is conducted in a computer-based format. Participants complete the assessment in a dedicated digital testing environment.
PISA 2029
The next PISA cycle in which Ukraine will participate is PISA 2029, the tenth cycle of the study.
The major domain will be reading, while mathematics and science will remain the other two core domains.
The innovative domain of PISA 2029 will be Media and Artificial Intelligence Literacy (MAIL). This assessment will examine how well 15-year-old students can engage effectively, critically, ethically and responsibly with digital content, media platforms and artificial intelligence systems. The assessment will include tasks set in realistic simulated digital environments.
Ukraine will also participate in the optional Financial Literacy assessment, which will be implemented with the support of the National Bank of Ukraine.
PISA 2029 testing in Ukraine will be conducted in Ukrainian. Two questionnaires will be administered: a student questionnaire and a school questionnaire to be completed by school principals.
Who organises PISA in Ukraine?
The Ukrainian Center for Educational Quality Assessment is responsible for organising and implementing PISA in Ukraine and serves as the country’s National PISA Centre.
Ukraine conducts the study in accordance with OECD international standards and in cooperation with international and national partners.
Given the circumstances of the full-scale war, Ukraine’s participation in PISA is supported by partners. In the PISA 2025 cycle, the main costs related to Ukraine’s participation were covered with the support of the OECD, while Ukraine’s participation in the optional Foreign Language Assessment was funded with the support of UNICEF. Ukraine’s participation in PISA 2029 will likewise be supported by partners.
Where can I learn more?
More information about PISA in Ukraine, including assessment frameworks, results from previous cycles, national reports, sample assessment tasks and the latest news, is available on the official PISA.UKRAINE website.
The website of the Ukrainian Center for Educational Quality Assessment also provides materials from PISA 2018, PISA 2022 and PISA 2025, including the PISA 2025 National Report, its summary in Ukrainian and English, and OECD analytical materials on Ukraine’s results.