Brazil Expects to Rank at Bottom of PISA International Student Assessment Results

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Education Minister Abraham Weintraub said Brazil should finish last in Latin America in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), an examination conducted as a sample among 15-year-olds.

Coordinated by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the assessment results will be released in December.

He said that poor results can be attributed to previous administrations, with “leftist approaches”. Asked if he was advancing the results, Weintraub was vague. “There is a high likelihood that we will be ranked at the bottom, in the lowest positions,” he said. “I’m assuming this based on solid numbers.”

During an event at the Planalto Palace, the minister said the goal is to move Brazil into first place in the Latin American ranking. However, in order to achieve this, the minister is relying on a second term for President Jair Bolsonaro.

In PISA’s last edition, in 2015, Brazil was ranked among the worst of all Latin American nations assessed, but it was not at the bottom.

The Dominican Republic achieved worse results in the three evaluated skills (Reading, Mathematics, and Science) and Peru in two of them (Reading and Science).

Ranked ahead of Brazil were Colombia, Chile, Mexico, and Uruguay.