Croatian 15-year-olds rank eighth in PISA's standings that measure teenagers' ability to understand and act on intercultural and global issues.

In the Global Competence test, conducted as part of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) among 27 countries, Croatian students achieved better than average results, according to the findings of the test, which were made public this past Thursday.

PISA’s definition of global competence includes openness towards people from other cultural backgrounds, respect for cultural differences and global-mindedness.

PISA’s test of “global understanding” includes background knowledge plus “cognitive skills necessary to successfully navigate global and intercultural issues.”

The test was conducted in spring 2018 among 6,609 pupils in 179 secondary and four elementary schools in Croatia.

Croatia’s students scored 506 points in the global competence test, which was above the average of 474 points.

Of the 27 countries covered by the tests, Singapore’s 15-year-olds top it with 576 points, Canada follows with 554 points, and Hong Kong (542 points) and the UK (534) make the top four in tjhe list. On the bottom of the ranking are the Philippines (371 points), Morocco (402) and Kazahstan and Indonesia both with 408 points.

According to the results of the test, Croatia’s students have shown greater awareness of global issues.

Croatia’s National Centre for the External Evaluation of Education (NCVVO) has explained that Croatia’s students also have a greater-than-average understanding of some global issues such as migrations, gender equality and international conflicts.

For instance, Croatian students’ attitudes towards immigrants are more positive than the average of OECD countries.

More than 90 Croatian pupils say they can speak two or more foreign languages whereas the OECD average is 68%.

On the other hand, Croatian students seem less ready to take activities in connection with local and global problems.