Australia is now among the top 10 academic performing countries in the world 

Students around the world have fallen behind in reading and maths during the pandemic, but Australian teens have managed to buck the trend.

Instead of falling, Australia's results in maths, science and reading have actually remained flat since 2018, according to the latest international education rankings.This means Australian 15-year-olds are now ranked ninth in the world in reading and science and tenth in the world in mathematics.But the story is not all rosy, as data reveals that nearly half still fail to reach national standards in those subjects, with those from more affluent backgrounds outperforming students from less advantaged families.

While Australia's global rankings improved in 2022, thanks to other countries falling on the list, our overall performance has declined since the early 2000s.

Where does Australia sit?

In 2022, Australian students performed at or above the OECD average in science, reading and mathematics, according to the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results.

But while Australia's results look good on paper, ACER senior research fellow Lisa De Bortoli says it's mostly thanks to other countries underperforming.

"While it's encouraging that Australia's results have stabilised, it's important to recognise that our position in the top 10 is largely due to the performance of other countries dropping below ours," she said.

"Just over half of Australian students achieved the National Proficiency Standard – 51 per cent in maths, 58 per cent in science and 57 per cent in reading – so a significant number of students are failing to demonstrate they have more than basic skills in those areas."

The number of "low performers" has increased in all three areas, with just over a quarter of Australian students classed as such in maths, though this is still below the OECD average of 31 per cent.

But overall, Australia's maths ranking is better now than before the pandemic with students moving from being on par with the OECD average in 2018 to above it in 2022. 

State by state, the results vary

While Australia as a whole is now performing above the OECD average across all three subjects, some states have fallen behind.

In maths, Tasmania and the Northern Territory fell below the OECD average.

The ACT was top of the class in every category, while nationally students in city schools outperformed their peers in regional and remote areas.

Class counts

Australia performed well overall, but digging into the PISA data shows the impact socio-economic status is having on how students perform.

The wealthier your background, the higher your likelihood of performing well in the PISA.

While performance in reading, science and maths has dropped across the board since the early 2000s, it has declined at a faster rate for those from lower socio-economic backgrounds.

Australia's not alone in this — the situation is similar across most OECD countries.