Irish teens ‘average’ in problem solving test

Irish teenagers’ relative inexperience at using computers for schoolwork may be behind unexpectedly low scores in international problem-solving tests.

They performed at or very near average in the latest results from the OECD tests set for 15-year-olds. In the problem-solving tests administered in 44 countries, Irish students’ results placed them 22nd, and 17th in a table of 28 OECD-member nations.

The 40-minute assessment in 2012 was done on computers, rather than the paper and pencil tests used for the main PISA tests.