92 

Table I.3.1. Description of the eight levels of mathematics proficiency in PISA 2022
Percentage of
students able to
Lower perform tasks at
score each level or above
Level limit (OECD average) Characteristics of tasks
6 669 2.0% At Level 6, students can work through abstract problems and demonstrate creativity and flexible thinking to develop
solutions. For example, they can recognise when a procedure that is not specified in a task can be applied in a
non-standard context or when demonstrating a deeper understanding of a mathematical concept is necessary as
part of a justification. They can link dif ferent information sources and representations, including effectively using
simulations or spreadsheets as part of their solution. Students at this level are capable of critical thinking and have
a mastery of symbolic and formal mathematical operations and relationships that they use to clearly communicate
their reasoning. They can reflect on the appropriateness of their actions with respect to their solution and the original
situation.
5 607 8.7% At Level 5, students can develop and work with models for complex situations, identifying or imposing constraints,
and specifying assumptions. They can apply systematic, well-planned problem-solving strategies for dealing with
more challenging tasks, such as deciding how to develop an experiment, designing an optimal procedure, or
working with more complex visualisations that are not given in the task. Students demonstrate an increased ability
to solve problems whose solutions often require incorporating mathematical knowledge that is not explicitly stated
in the task. Students at this level reflect on their work and consider mathematical results with respect to the real -
world context .
4 545 23.6% At Level 4, students can work ef fectively with explicit models for complex concrete situations, sometimes involving
two variables, as well as demonstrate an ability to work with undefined models that they derive using a more
sophisticated computational-thinking approach. Students at this level begin to engage with aspects of critical
thinking, such as evaluating the reasonableness of a result by making qualitative judgements when computations
are not possible from the given information. They can select and integrate different representations of information,
including symbolic or graphical, linking them directly to aspects of real-world situations. At this level, students
can also construct and communicate explanations and arguments based on their interpretations, reasoning, and
methodology .
3 482 45.6% At Level 3, students can devise solution strategies, including strategies that require sequential decision-making or
flexibility in understanding of familiar concepts. At this level, students begin using computational-thinking skills t o
develop their solution strategy. They are able to solve tasks that require performing several different but routine
calculations that are not all clearly defined in the problem statement. They can use spatial visualisation as part
of a solution strategy or determine how to use a simulation to gather data appropriate for the task. Students at
this level can interpret and use representations based on different information sources and reason directly from
them, including conditional decision-making using a two-way table. They typically show some ability to handle
percentages, fractions and decimal numbers, and to work with proportional relationships.
2 420 68.9% At Level 2, students can recognise situations where they need to design simple strategies to solve problems,
including running straightforward simulations involving one variable as part of their solution strategy. They can
extract relevant information from one or more sources that use slightly more complex modes of representation, such
as two-way tables, charts, or two-dimensional representations of three-dimensional objects. Students at this level
demonstrate a basic understanding of functional relationships and can solve problems involving simple ratios. They
are capable of making literal interpretations of results .
1a 358 87.6% At Level 1a, students can answer questions involving simple contexts where all information needed is present, and
the questions are clearly defined. Information may be presented in a variety of simple formats and students may
need to work with two sources simultaneously to extract relevant information. They are able to carry out simple,
routine procedures according to direct instructions in explicit situations, which may sometimes require multiple
iterations of a routine procedure to solve a problem. They can perform actions that are obvious or that require very
minimal synthesis of information, but in all instances the actions follow clearly from the given stimuli. Students at
this level can employ basic algorithms, formulae, procedures, or conventions to solve problems that most often
involve whole numbers.
1b 295 97.4% At Level 1b, students can respond to questions involving easy to understand contexts where all information needed
is clearly given in a simple representation (i.e., tabular or graphic) and, as necessary, recognize when some
information is extraneous and can be ignored with respect to the specific question being asked. They are able to
perform simple calculations with whole numbers, which follow from clearly prescribed instructions, defined in short,
syntactically simple text .
1c 233 99.7% At Level 1c, students can respond to questions involving easy to understand contexts where all relevant information
is clearly given in a simple, familiar format (for example, a small table or picture) and defined in a very short,
syntactically simple text. They are able to follow a clear instruction describing a single step or operation.

Source: OECD, PISA 2022 Database, Table I.B1.3.1.

PISA 2022 RESULTS (VOLUME I) © OECD 2023