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   OECD pupils who turn off notifications in class score 17 points higher in maths

   Those who feel pressure to be online in class score 18 lower, those anxious without a device 9 lower. Those who keep a device near at home to answer messages score 21 higher.

   Source: OECD: PISA 2022, Volume II (device questionnaire) · CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGOOpen on the chart →

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   Pupils were asked about their device habits: whether they turn off notifications, keep the phone near, feel anxious without it. Those who do so almost always were compared with those who do so less than half of the time.

   Each bar: how much higher or lower the maths score is among pupils who act or feel this way almost always, after socio-economic adjustment. OECD average.

   • OECD average: notifications off in class — maths gap points

     +16.8 (unadjusted +23.4)

     OECD: PISA 2022, Volume II (device questionnaire) · CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO

   • OECD average: always reachable at home — maths gap points

     +20.6 (unadjusted +32.2)

     OECD: PISA 2022, Volume II (device questionnaire) · CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO

   • OECD average: notifications off at night — maths gap points

     +9.8 (unadjusted +19.6)

     OECD: PISA 2022, Volume II (device questionnaire) · CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO

   • OECD average: device open in class — maths gap points

     −5.9 (unadjusted −1.7)

     OECD: PISA 2022, Volume II (device questionnaire) · CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO

   • OECD average: anxious without a device — maths gap points

     −8.6 (unadjusted −8.5)

     OECD: PISA 2022, Volume II (device questionnaire) · CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO

   • OECD average: pressure to be online — maths gap points

     −17.6 (unadjusted −19.5)

     OECD: PISA 2022, Volume II (device questionnaire) · CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO

   OECD PISA 2022, Volume II, tables II.B1.5.46 and II.B1.5.51. All six gaps exceed the error. Unadjusted: +23, +32, +20, −2, −8, −20. Share doing or feeling so almost always: 45%, 51%, 44%, 16%, 9%, 5%.

   Habits and scores are linked, but which drives which is unknown: organised pupils may both silence notifications and solve problems better. The plus for being always reachable at home is unexpected, and the card does not explain it. One year, pupils' own answers.

   A question for this picture

   How many 15-year-olds are distracted by devices in every lesson?

More findings

• Israel: 15-year-olds with problems from social media rose from 5% to 16%, and maths did not fall; in Norway there are fewer, and maths fell 33 points
• Schoolgirls in Europe and Canada: schoolwork weighs on 62% of 15-year-old girls, up from 50% in 2014; boys, 43%
• Switzerland and Italy: 19% and 65% of adults read no book in a year; adult literacy scores 266 and 246
• 15-year-olds in Europe and Canada: 32% feel low every week, up from 23% in 2018 and 22% in 2014
• US: since 2013 the weakest 10% of fourth-graders lost 15 points in reading; the strongest 10% did not change
• US: 13-year-olds read in 2023 at the level of 1971, after falling 7 points from the 2012 peak

All findings →