“Vazirlikka haqqoniy tahlil, natijalar kerak, ko‘zbo‘yamachilik emas” — Hilola Umarova

PISA is an international student assessment program that assesses the literacy of 15-year-old students (in reading, mathematics, and science) and their ability to apply their knowledge in practice in different countries.

This program was introduced in 1997 and is held every three years, the first time in 2000. In 2022, Uzbekistan finally participated in the PISA international survey for the first time.

In it, 15-year-old students in Uzbekistan scored a total of 364 points in mathematics.

If we compare these results with other countries, it is not difficult to see that this is a much lower indicator. In total, 81 countries participated in the PISA 2022 study, and Uzbekistan ranked 72nd among these countries.

In addition, in other areas of the PISA 2022 study, that is, reading literacy - 336 points (80th place among 81 countries), natural science literacy - 355 points (80th place among 81 countries).

Uzbekistan is also scheduled to participate in the PISA 2025 study, and the PISA 2025 international tests were launched in Uzbekistan on May 5th of this year.

In January of this year, a source from xalqtaliminfo.uz reported that an order from the Minister of Preschool and School Education was signed to approve the number of schools participating in the PISA 2025 study. At the same time, information about the exact list of schools participating in the PISA 2025 study was circulating on social networks.

If we look at the data in it, we can see that a total of 233 educational institutions participate in the PISA 2025 study, of which 17 are Presidential and specialized schools, 4 are private schools, 1 is a boarding school, 1 is a military music academic lyceum, 1 is a republican school for training in Olympic and Paralympic sports, and 209 are ordinary general education schools.

If we compare these figures with the figures published by the Ministry of Preschool and School Education, we can see that there is no difference between them.

Is PISA being conducted for deception?

Educational expert Shokir Tursun accused the Ministry of Preschool and School Education of artificially inflating PISA 2025 results on his X social media page. He explained this idea by the fact that all Presidential schools were "randomly" selected in the PISA 2025 study.

"As I understand it, all schools in the presidential school system are participating in this year's PISA. This is considered fraud. An attempt to artificially increase the average score. I don't understand how the OECD allowed this. After all, representativeness is clearly violated," says the expert.

In response to Shokir Tursun's accusations, Minister Hilola Umarova stated that the ministry would not interfere in the school selection process at all and that the ministry does not need deception.

"233 schools in Uzbekistan were selected based on the principle of randomization to participate in the PISA study. The Ministry does not interfere at all in the school selection process; the OECD selects and conducts it. The Ministry needs a fair analysis and results. "This is not deception," said Minister Umarova.

PISA and representativeness

The number of schools from each country participating in the PISA study is determined based on international requirements. In this case, at least 2% of the total number of schools from the participating country must participate. In addition, 150 schools and 6,000 students are designated as the minimum number of participants.

Only a few out of thousands of schools in each participating country are selected for the PISA study, but this selection should reflect the overall level of students in the entire country. That is, the random selection of schools participating in the study from all regions of the country based on the principle of representativeness is one of the most important conditions of the study.

Why is representativeness important?

If only the best schools are selected to participate in the study, this will not be a representative sample, because then PISA results show only the results of students in elite schools, and not the real results of students in the whole country.

Therefore, PISA studies randomly select schools, taking into account such factors as urban and rural schools, schools in remote areas, language of instruction, and type of school (public/private). For this very reason, the PISA study designated random selection of schools.

A total of 233 educational institutions participated in the PISA 2025 study, including 17 Presidential and specialized schools, 4 private schools, 1 boarding school, 1 military music academic lyceum, 1 republican school for training in Olympic and Paralympic sports, and 209 ordinary general secondary schools.

When comparing the number of schools participating in the PISA 2025 study by region, we can see that the share of schools in the city of Tashkent (52) is the highest compared to other regions, and the share of schools in the Syrdarya region (4) is lower.

The number of schools participating in the PISA 2025 study by region is as follows

• 52 from Tashkent;

• 23 from Samarkand region;

• 21 from Namangan region;

• 21 from Fergana region;

• 20 from Kashkadarya region;

• 19 from Andijan region;

• 15 from Tashkent region;

• 12 from Khorezm region;

• 15 from Surkhandarya region;

• Republic of Karakalpakstan - 11;

• 10 from Bukhara region;

• 10 from Jizzakh region;

• 4 from Syrdarya region.