PISA Practice Test

Prepare for the PISA assessment with our free PISA test questions covering all three core domains: reading literacy, mathematical literacy, and scientific literacy. The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is administered by the OECD roughly every three years (moving to a four-year cycle after PISA 2025, with the next round in 2029) to evaluate how well 15-year-old students can apply knowledge to real-world situations. There is no PISA test in 2026 itself: 2026 is the year the PISA 2025 results were published, and the next round of PISA tests is PISA 2029.

Our practice tests mirror the PISA question format — complex stimulus texts, data interpretation charts, and scenario-based problems — giving you the most realistic preparation available online. For more exam practice, try our ICAS practice test.

For a fuller set of questions on this topic, see our test pisa resource.

For a fuller set of questions on this topic, see our pisa test resource.

How to Use These PISA Test Questions

Start with the domain you find most challenging. Each practice quiz presents questions in the same applied-knowledge style as the real PISA assessment. Review explanations after each question to understand the reasoning process, not just the answer.

Students aiming for top PISA performance should focus on reading between the lines of complex texts, interpreting graphs and statistical data, and reasoning through multi-step scientific problems. Students also find our EOG practice test helpful for building exam-ready skills.

PISA Test Sample Questions: What the Released OECD Units Look Like

The most reliable sample questions are the units the OECD itself retires and publishes after each cycle. Its official PISA test page offers interactive versions: reading units based on PISA 2018 such as Chicken Forum, Rapa Nui, Cow's Milk and Galapagos Islands; mathematics units based on PISA 2022 such as Car Purchase, Moving Truck and Solar System; and science units based on PISA 2025 such as Fast Fashion, Energy Source, Loss of Biodiversity and Black Soldier Fly. Because they run in a web browser, these released units are the closest thing to an official "test PISA en ligne" (online PISA test) that anyone can take. A separate PDF collects the released Learning in the Digital World items, the innovative domain assessed for the first time in PISA 2025.

These units show what PISA exam questions actually demand. Each begins with a stimulus (a forum thread, a set of charts, a short science briefing) followed by questions that move from multiple choice to open responses where the student must justify a claim with evidence. Nothing is pure recall: a mathematics item asks you to compare offers or extend a pattern; a science item asks you to interpret data or judge an experimental design.

Because PISA test results by country are reported as averages on a scale originally set so that the OECD mean was 500, with proficiency levels from 1 to 6, released units are the most realistic gauge of where a student sits. The free quizzes above follow the same stimulus-then-question structure, so practice can continue beyond the limited number of released items.

PISA Test Results by Country: PISA 2025 Rankings Released in 2026

The PISA 2025 results, published by the OECD on 8 September 2026, cover 91 countries and economies (38 OECD members and 53 partners). B-S-J-Z (China), the provinces of Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, had the highest mean scores in science (597 points) and mathematics (612 points), while Singapore had the highest mean score in reading (535 points).

Across the OECD, PISA 2025 recorded the lowest averages so far in all three core domains. Between 2022 and 2025 reading fell by about 14 points and mathematics by 9, while science was broadly stable. Over the longer 2015-2025 period, the OECD reading average dropped from 489 to 461 and mathematics from 485 to 463. Scores are national averages from a sample, so small gaps between neighbouring countries are often not statistically significant. *The United States has limited reporting because some PISA sampling standards were not met.

Source: OECD, PISA 2025 Results (Volume I), Table I.1.

Pros and Cons at a Glance

Sample PISA - Program for International Student Assessment Practice Questions

Try these questions from our free PISA - Program for International Student Assessment practice tests. The correct answer and an explanation follow each question.

1. A student selected to participate in PISA has a formally documented disability and an Individualized Education Program (IEP) that allows for accommodations like extended time. Which of the following is a primary way the PISA administration addresses this student's needs while maintaining standardization?

   • A. The student is automatically excluded to ensure data is comparable.
   • B. The student's classroom teacher is allowed to paraphrase difficult questions.
   • C. The student may be offered a separate testing session with extended time or the shorter 'Une Heure' (UH) assessment form.
   • D. The student is given the test with all other students but their results are flagged and not included in the national average.

Answer: C. The student may be offered a separate testing session with extended time or the shorter 'Une Heure' (UH) assessment form.

PISA aims to be as inclusive as possible. For students with special educational needs, accommodations such as separate testing sessions and extended time are permitted. For students who cannot participate in the full two-hour assessment, a special one-hour test form (the 'Une Heure' or UH form) is available.

Answer: B. Evaluate the purpose and intended audience of each source to understand their different perspectives.

A key cognitive process in the PISA global competence assessment is the ability to evaluate information, sources, and perspectives. This involves recognizing that sources have different purposes and biases which influence how they present information. This skill is crucial for making sense of complex global issues by analyzing data and arguments from multiple viewpoints.

Answer: A. Privately and respectfully ask the exchange student for their thoughts, creating a comfortable space for them to share.

This scenario assesses the dimension of 'Engaging in open, appropriate, and effective interactions across cultures'. The correct approach demonstrates an awareness of potential cultural differences in communication styles and seeks a respectful and effective way to include the team member, rather than making assumptions or creating a confrontational situation.

Answer: B. Synthesize both perspectives to acknowledge the complex economic and ethical trade-offs involved.

PISA's framework for global competence emphasizes the ability to understand and appreciate different perspectives and world views. This involves recognizing that complex global issues have multiple facets and that different stakeholders may have valid, though conflicting, viewpoints. Synthesizing these perspectives to understand the complexity demonstrates a higher level of cognitive skill than simply choosing one side.

Take the full PISA - Program for International Student Assessment practice test

Official Resources

• OECD PISA test: released items – the OECD's official page of interactive test questions and downloadable released units for reading, mathematics, science and Learning in the Digital World.
• NCES: Program for International Student Assessment – the US National Center for Education Statistics hub for PISA results, data files and released assessment items.
• NCES PISA Overview – official explanation of how PISA is run, which domains each cycle covers and how the United States participates.