The attitude of Latvian teenagers towards education has noticeably changed in recent years. New results from the international PISA study show that students have become less interested in acquiring new knowledge and are less willing to put in effort when faced with challenging tasks. According to a study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), 71% of Latvian students stated that they are interested in many different things. This is slightly below the OECD average, where 73% of students responded similarly. The difference is even more pronounced in terms of persistence. Only 55% of students in Latvia reported that they continue to exert extra effort when a task proves difficult. In OECD countries, this figure reaches 60%. At the same time, the proportion of teenagers who have a negative attitude towards school has increased. 31% of survey participants believe that studying is a waste of time. On average, 24% of students in OECD countries share this opinion. Changes are particularly noticeable compared to the previous PISA study conducted in 2022. During this time, the proportion of curious students decreased by 7.2 percentage points, the number willing to overcome difficulties dropped by 6.3 points, and the number of those who consider school useless increased by 4.3 points. The study shows that the attitude towards education is directly related to performance. Students who exhibit more curiosity, persistence, and generally have a more positive perception of school demonstrate higher knowledge in the natural sciences. For the first time, the PISA study separately assessed the so-called "growth mindset" — the belief that abilities can be developed through effort and practice. In Latvia, 76% of students hold this view, while the OECD average is 69%. For the students themselves, this has practical significance: teenagers who believe that intelligence can be developed score an average of 47 points higher in natural sciences than their peers with opposing views. The authors of the study also highlight the skills of self-organizing their studies. Only 46% of students regularly plan how they will complete assignments, and 48% check themselves by asking questions to ensure they truly understand the material. At the same time, seeking help is also associated with higher results. Students who more frequently ask for advice from teachers or classmates score an average of five points higher than those who prefer to manage on their own. New data complements previously published PISA results, which indicate that the knowledge of Latvian students has significantly declined over the past decade. A particularly sharp decline has been recorded in reading literacy: compared to 2015, the average score decreased by 51 points, and 41% of teenagers did not even reach the minimum reading level. In natural sciences, the average score was 468 points, while in mathematics it was 460 points. At the same time, in the area of problem-solving in a digital environment, Latvian students performed above the OECD average, scoring 507 points compared to 500. Researchers note that differences between schools remain significant. In this regard, the composition of students and learning conditions are more crucial than the region where the school is located.
