83281 Education PISA 2012 Europe and Central Asia Bulgaria Highlights  Increase in performance in all three subjects (especially encouraging increase in math).  The share of functionally innumerate/illiterate has decreased substantially since 2006, and the share of proficient performers has slightly increased for math and reading.  Despite the good news, Bulgaria’s performance is lower than countries that spend less resources per student (e.g. Romania, Serbia ).  Bulgaria outcomes in Math place its students, on average, one year of schooling behind OECD average.  The difference between urban and rural students is high (equivalent to almost two years of schooling), and the difference between top and bottom 20% (socio-economic) performers equates to almost three years of schooling (while OECD’s difference is two years of schooling).  Policy Action: Utilize the school autonomy and per capita financing to target resources and support schools serving poor and rural students  Policy Action: Expand ECD services, especially for the poor.  Policy Action: Delay early tracking of students (after grades 7 and 8) into profiled and vocational schools. Scores over Time Math Trends 550 OECD 500 Math Reading Science 2000 430 430 448 ECA Math Score 450 2003 - - - 2006 413 402 434 400 Bulgaria 2009 428 429 439 2012 439 436 446 350 2000 2003 2006 2009 2012 Student Performance Equity Profile 100 3.1 4.1 2.1 4.3 ≈ 1 year of schooling* 75 43.6 46.9 Top 20% ESCS Math 52.2 56.3 Bottom 20% ESCS 50 Rural Math Urban 25 53.3 51.1 43.8 39.4 Males Reading Math Females 0 2006 2012 2006 2012 Males Females Math Reading High Proficiency Basic Proficiency Functional Innumeracy/ 370 410 450 490 Illiteracy 40 points in PISA scale ≈ 1 year of schooling ESCS: Economic, Social, and Cultural Status Education PISA 2012 Europe and Central Asia Bulgaria PISA Performance and Public Expenditure in Education 580 East Asia Hong Kong Korea 540 Japan Switzerland Poland Estonia Netherlands Europe and Finland Belgium Central Asia Czech Republic New Zealand Australia Austria 500 Ireland Denmark Latvia Slovenia France Math Score PISA 2012 Portugal United Kingdom Italy Iceland Norway Sweden Lithuania Slovak Republic Spain Hungary United States Croatia Israel 460 Serbia Romania Cyprus Western Europe BULGARIA & US/Canada Kazakhstan Thailand 420 Chile Malaysia Mexico Argentina 380 Indonesia Latin America Colombia Peru 340 0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 14000 16000 Public expenditures per pupil (in PPP dollars) , UNESCO 2012 or latest WB Relevant Education Engagement Financing: Social Inclusion Project Analytical: Programmatic Education Sector TA; Bulgaria Golden Growth Study; “Springboard for School Readiness” impact evaluation of outreach and conditional financial support for preschool enrollment of disadvantaged children. SABER: Completed: Teachers Policies and School Autonomy and Accountability; Underway: Early Childhood Development; Workforce Development. About PISA PISA: Program for International Student Assessment PISA is the OECD’s benchmarking tool to assess achievement and application of key knowledge and skills of 15 year-olds. PISA tests proficiency in mathematics, reading, science, and problem-solving. In 2012, representative samples from 65 countries (18 ECA client countries) included 510,000 students. PISA was launched in 2000 and is conducted every three years. 40 points in the PISA scales are considered equivalent to one year of schooling. Functionally illiterate and innumerate students are those who do not meet the basic skills in reading and mathematics that are fundamental for their future development.