quality and highly unequal education system. Third, the poor quality is reflected in the fact that

the proportion of children from the poorest wealth group from rural OECD countries achieving

basic competency in science is almost identical to that corresponding to children from the

wealthiest urban population in OIC countries.

Figure 2.22: Learning Levels of Children from Top and BottomWealth Groups in Urban OIC

vs. Rural OECD and Non-OECD, PISA 2012

Source: Author’s calculation based on WIDE database

One can also compare the performance of children from urban OIC sample with those from rural

children in non-OIC countries based on PISA 2012 data. The mean proportions of urban students

attaining levels 1 and 4 math competency in the OIC sample are 0.74 and 0.07. These are much

lower compared to rural students in OECD (0.90 and 0.25 respectively) and non-OECD (0.75 and

0.11 respectively). Similar gaps are noticeable in case of reading -- 0.83 and 0.06 urban students

achieve levels 1 and 4 competence in reading (0.85 and 0.05 in science). However, the

corresponding figures for rural students from OECD countries are much higher -- 0.93 and 0.22

in reading (0.95 and 0.23 in science respectively). This is also true when compared to rural

students from non-OECD countries (0.81 and 0.08 in reading and 0.85 and 0.09 in science

respectively).

Therefore

Figure 2.22

plots PISA 2012 performance data for urban OIC against rural children

from OECD and non-OECD countries, restricting analysis to the top and bottom wealth groups.

A number of patterns are noteworthy. First, compared to TIMSS, the top-bottom wealth group

gap is smaller among urban children in OIC countries in basic mathematics competency (level 1

achievement); approximately 10 percentage point more children from the wealthiest group

cross the level-1 achievement threshold. But wealth gap is in general also smaller in PISA data

for other non-OIC countries.

Second, top-bottom wealth gap is largest in math, compared to science and reading, in non-OIC

countries. Third, the poor quality of education in participating OIC countries is reflected in the

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math, level1 math, level4 reading,

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