Frequently Asked Questions

PISA assesses 15-year-old students who are enrolled in an educational institution, regardless of their grade or type of programme. A representative sample of schools and students is selected for each country.

PISA measures reading, mathematical and scientific literacy — that is, how well students can apply their knowledge and skills to real-life situations rather than how much they have memorised.

Unlike school exams, PISA does not test the national curriculum or assign grades to individual students. It evaluates the ability to apply knowledge in practice and provides comparable data about the education system as a whole.

PISA results are reported as average scores and proficiency levels that allow comparison over time and between countries. They are intended to inform education policy, not to rank individual students or schools.

No. All data collected under PISA is strictly confidential. No individual student or school taking part in the study is identified in any report — only aggregated, anonymised results are published.

For the PISA 2025 cycle, a representative sample of schools was drawn in Dushanbe, covering Tajik-medium, Russian-medium and mixed-language institutions of general, primary and secondary vocational education. Schools and students within them are selected at random by internationally standardised procedures.

The School Coordinator is the link between a participating school, the National PISA Centre and the Test Administrator. They prepare student lists, inform staff, students and parents, organise the assessment day and complete the school questionnaire.

The Test Administrator conducts the assessment session and the student questionnaire, following a standardised script used in every participating country to ensure the procedure is identical everywhere. Test Administrators are assigned by the National Centre and do not work at the school where they administer the test, to ensure objectivity.