Irish teens: Top readers, okay at science and maths

IRISH teenagers are among the world’s best readers, but are only just above average in science and average at maths, according to the latest international research.

The findings of the 2006 Performance for International Student Assessment (PISA) rank Irish 15-year-olds fifth among 29 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, and sixth among the 56 countries whose students were measured in tests a year ago.

According to the Department of Education, Irish students are 14th at science in the OECD and 20th of all countries which took part, with average scores placing us above the OECD average — but only just.