According to the latest published data from the 2018 PISA survey, Bulgarian 15-year-olds perform below the OECD average in all three literacy domains (language, maths and science). Scores are slightly higher in mathematics (436 points with an average of 489 and the highest value is 590 for China’s four provinces) and in science (424 points with an average of 489 and 591 the highest performance again for China) compared to performance in reading (420 points with an average of 487 and the highest value is 555 for China’s four provinces). The country ranks relatively behind the other countries, 48th in mathematics and 59th in science and 54th in reading, respectively, out of 79 countries (OECD, 2019a, pp. 56-62; OECD, 2019d, pp. 1-2).
Almost one in two students fail to meet the reading literacy requirements that are considered basic, namely being able to identify the main idea in a small text, locate information based on clear, albeit sometimes complex, criteria, and reflect on the purpose and form of texts when required (OECD, 2019d, p. 2).
