PISA

PISA 2022 Results

Volume III:

Creative Minds, Creative Schools

Factsheets

Mexico
 Mexico
In 2022, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) assessed the creative thinking
abilities of 15-year-old students. The test explores how well students can generate diverse and creative
ideas, and how well they can evaluate and improve others’ ideas to reach creative outcomes. Tasks in the
test are situated in four domain contexts: written expression, visual expression, social problem solving and
scientific problem solving. Volume III of PISA 2022 Results gives insights into how well education systems
are preparing students to think outside the box and to come up with creative ideas in a range of different
contexts. By comparing results internationally, policymakers and educators in Mexico can learn from other
countries’ policies and practices.

How well did 15-year-old students in Mexico do on the creative thinking test?
Creative thinking proficiency

Figure 1. PISA 2022 Creative Thinking performance

Mexico, OECD average and selected comparison countries/economies

Overall performance Relative performance Variance in performance

on a 60-point scale based on PISA 2022 mathematics performance uniquely explained by mathematics
29
performance
Singapore Mexico
OECD average

OECD average

OECD average
Below expectations
Korea Chile Chile
5.0
Canada* Mexico OECD Average

Australia* Australia* Colombia

New Zealand* New Zealand* Brazil

Estonia Costa Rica Canada*

Finland Canada* Hungary

OECD Average El Salvador Indonesia

Chile Jamaica* Poland

29
Mexico Colombia Latvia*

Colombia OECD Average Jamaica*

Above expectations
Jamaica* Brazil Kazakhstan
25 30 35 40 45 -10 -5 0 5 10 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Score points Score points dif. %

Notes: Comparison countries include the six highest-performing countries (overall and relatively), or the six countries
with the smallest share of variance in creative thinking uniquely explained by mathematics performance, and five
neighbouring or comparable countries. Horizontal lines that extend beyond the markers represent a measure of
uncertainty associated with mean estimates (the 95% confidence interval).
Source: OECD, PISA 2022 Database, Tables III.B1.2.1, III.B1.2.4 and III.B1.2.3.

• With a mean score of 29 out of 60 possible points, students in Mexico scored significantly lower
than the OECD average in creative thinking (33).
• Students’ relative results in creative thinking are above what could be expected from Mexico based
on their performance in mathematics; and above what could be expected based on their
performance in reading.
• In Mexico, 29% of the variation in creative thinking performance can be uniquely attributed to
variation in mathematics performance, which is not statistically different from the OECD average.
Within Mexico, the correlation between students’ creative thinking and mathematic performance is
0.66, and 0.67 between creative thinking and reading performance (OECD averages: 0.67 and
0.66). For comparison, on average across OECD countries, the correlation between students’
mathematics and reading performance is 0.80.

PISA 2022 RESULTS (VOLUME III): FACTSHEETS – MEXICO © OECD 2024

2
What students can do in creative thinking

Figure 2. Top-performing and low-performing students in creative thinking

Low-performing students Top-performing students

(scoring below Level 3) (scoring at Level 5 or above)

Mexico 30 56 14

OECD average 22 51 27

0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

Note: Numbers inside the figure correspond to percentages.

Source: OECD, PISA 2022 Database, Table III.B1.2.2.

• In Mexico, 70% of students attained at least a baseline proficiency in creative thinking (Level 3),
significantly less than on average across OECD countries (78%). At a minimum, these students
can generate appropriate ideas for simple to moderately complex expressive and problem-solving
tasks, and they also begin to demonstrate the ability to generate original ideas or solutions in
familiar task contexts. In 21 countries and economies out of 64 tested, more than 1 in 2 students
did not reach this baseline level of proficiency in creative thinking.
• 14% of students in Mexico are top performers in creative thinking, meaning that they attained Level
5 or 6 in the PISA Creative Thinking test (OECD average: 27%). In Australia*, Finland, New
Zealand*, Canada* and Korea, around 4 in 10 students are top performers, and in Singapore,
more than 1 in 2. At these proficiency levels, students can generate, evaluate and improve creative
ideas in diverse and complex tasks, including abstract design tasks or more constrained/unfamiliar
scientific and social problem scenarios. Only in 20 out of 64 countries and economies taking the
PISA 2022 Creative Thinking test can more than 25% of students be considered top performers.
• In Mexico, just about 1% of top performers in creative thinking are also top performers in
mathematics, and 3% are top performers in reading (OECD averages: 20% and 17%). This
suggests that one can excel in creative thinking without excelling in academic domains (and vice-
versa), though a baseline level of proficiency in one domain complements proficiency in the others
(see Figure III.2.4 in the report).

PISA 2022 RESULTS (VOLUME III): FACTSHEETS – MEXICO © OECD 2024

3
How does Mexico compare across the ideation processes and domain contexts of the
creative thinking test?

Figure 3. Relative success across the three ideation processes of the test
Mexico, OECD average and selected comparison countries/economies

Generate Diverse Ideas Generate Creative Ideas Evaluate and Improve Ideas
Canada* Colombia Ukrainian regions (18 of 27)
OECD average

OECD average

OECD average
Chile Hungary Qatar

Brazil Jamaica* Finland

-2
Mexico OECD Average Baku (Azerbaijan)
1
OECD Average Mexico Hong Kong (China)*

Colombia Canada* Cyprus

Jamaica* Brazil Saudi Arabia

Uzbekistan Peru Jamaica*

Serbia Singapore Colombia

Moldova Slovak Republic Brazil

1
Czechia Chile Mexico

Lithuania Portugal OECD Average

-10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20
Relative success (% dif.) Relative success (% dif.) Relative success (% dif.)

Notes: The relative success is the difference between the percentage of correct responses in one ideation process and
average percent correct on all other tasks (full credit only). This difference accounts for the international difficulty of
each task. Comparison countries include the six countries with the highest relative performance in each ideation
process, and five neighbouring or comparable countries. Horizontal lines that extend beyond the markers represent a
measure of uncertainty associated with mean estimates (the 95% confidence interval).
Source: OECD, PISA 2022 Database, Table III.B1.4.3.

• The PISA 2022 Creative Thinking test explored students’ proficiency across three ideation
processes: generating diverse ideas, generating creative ideas, and evaluating and improving
ideas. In light of their overall performance in the test, and accounting for tasks’ respective difficulty,
students in Mexico scored relatively higher in tasks that required evaluating and improving ideas
than in others.
• Across all participating countries and economies, students struggled relatively more with tasks that
required generating diverse ideas, accounting for their respective difficulty.

PISA 2022 RESULTS (VOLUME III): FACTSHEETS – MEXICO © OECD 2024

4
Figure 4. Relative success across the four domain contexts of the test
Mexico, OECD average and selected comparison countries/economies

Written expression Visual expression 20

Social problem solving Scientific problem solving
Czechia Mexico Malaysia Korea

OECD average

OECD average

OECD average

OECD average
Iceland Dominican Republic** Palestinian Authority Albania**

Italy Romania Saudi Arabia Spain

Chile Portugal Finland Netherlands*

Lithuania El Salvador Singapore Italy

Serbia Indonesia Morocco Thailand

Latvia* Philippines Jordan Mongolia

7
Mexico Chile Brazil Colombia

Canada* Brazil Canada* OECD Average

Colombia OECD Average Jamaica* Chile

Jamaica* Colombia OECD Average Brazil

-11 -6
OECD Average Jamaica* Mexico Mexico
-10 0 10 20 -10 0 10 20 -10 0 10 20 -10 0 10 20
Relative success (% dif.) Relative success (% dif.) Relative success (% dif.) Relative success (% dif.)

Notes: The relative success is the difference between the percentage of correct responses in one domain context and
average percent correct on all other tasks (full credit only). This difference accounts for the international difficulty of
each task. Comparison countries include the six countries with the highest relative performance in each domain context,
and five neighbouring or comparable countries. Horizontal lines that extend beyond the markers represent a measure
of uncertainty associated with mean estimates (the 95% confidence interval).
Source: OECD, PISA 2022 Database, Table III.B1.4.4.

• All 32 tasks in the test were also situated in four domain contexts: written expression, visual
expression, social problem solving, and scientific problem solving. Relative to their performance in
all other tasks, and accounting for their respective difficulty, students in Mexico showed higher
proficiency in tasks that involved written expression and visual expression.
• Across all participating countries and economies, and accounting for their respective difficulty,
students struggled more with tasks that involved solving both social and scientific problems with
creative ideas.

A special edition of PISA

This PISA test was originally due to be conducted in 2021 but was delayed by one year due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. The exceptional circumstances throughout this period, including lockdowns and
school closures in many countries, led to occasional difficulties in collecting some data. While the vast
majority of countries and economies met PISA’s technical standards, a small number did not. A country
or economy in this note with an asterisk (*) next to its name means that caution is required when
interpreting estimates because one or more PISA sampling standards were not reached. Two asterisks
(**) means that caution is required when comparing estimates with other countries/economies as a
strong linkage to the international PISA creative thinking scale could not be established. Further
information can be found in the Reader’s Guide and in Annexes A2 and A4 of the main report.

PISA 2022 RESULTS (VOLUME III): FACTSHEETS – MEXICO © OECD 2024

5
Performance gaps within Mexico
Socio-economic divides

Figure 5. Mean performance in creative thinking by national quartiles of socio-

economic status
50
Creative Thinking performance

OECD Average Mexico Colombia Brazil

45
(score points)

40

35

30

25

20

15
Bottom 25% Top 25% Bottom 25% Top 25% Bottom 25% Top 25% Bottom 25% Top 25%
National quartiles of socio-economic status

Notes: Vertical bars that extend beyond the markers represent a measure of uncertainty associated with each estimate
(the 95% confidence interval). Horizontal, dashed lines represent the uncertainty associated with the mean score of
the most advantaged group of students (the top quartiles) within Mexico.
Source: OECD, PISA 2022 Database, Table III.B1.3.7.

• In Mexico, socio-economically advantaged students outperformed disadvantaged students in

creative thinking by 8.4 score points, on a scale that counts 60 points. This is similar to the average
difference between the two groups across OECD countries (9.5 score points).
• Like student performance in the mathematics, reading and science assessments, socio-economic
status was a strong predictor of performance in creative thinking in all PISA participating countries
and economies. It explained 10% of the variation in creative thinking performance in Mexico
(compared to 12% on average across OECD countries). However, in general, the association
between socio-economic status and performance in creative thinking was weaker than the
equivalent association with mathematics performance.
• Some 12% of disadvantaged students in Mexico were able to score in the top quarter of creative
thinking performance within Mexico. These students can be considered resilient creative thinkers
because, despite their socio-economic disadvantage, they have attained excellence in
performance by comparison with students in their own country. On average across OECD
countries, 13% of disadvantaged students scored in the top quarter of creative thinking
performance in their own countries/economies.

Gender gap
• Mexico is one of the three participating countries/economies where girls did not significantly
outperform boys, on average.
• The share of students attaining Level 5 or 6 in creative thinking (the top performers) in Mexico is
smaller among girls (14%) than among boys (14%) (OECD averages: 31% and 23%). At the other
end, the share of students who do not reach the baseline Level 3 is larger among boys (30%) than
among girls (30%) (OECD averages: 25% and 18%).

PISA 2022 RESULTS (VOLUME III): FACTSHEETS – MEXICO © OECD 2024

6
How do students perceive creativity in Mexico?
Figure 6. Beliefs, attitudes and social-emotional characteristics that positively
relate to creative thinking

Mexico Mexico
OECD average OECD average

It is possible to be creative 86 59 I cannot change my

in nearly any subject Beliefs creativity very much
82 54
Doing something 91 19 I do not enjoy thinking about
creative satisifies me 77 Openness to intellect 32 new ways of doing things
I often get 69 Imagination 32 I have difficulty
lost in thought 73 27 using my imagination
I like to know how things work 84 Curiosity 7 I find learning new
77 11 things to be boring
I want to understand why 65 33 I think there is only one
people behave the way they do Perspective taking correct position in a disagreement
68 18
I complete tasks even when 64 14 I give up after
they become more difficult than I thought 55 Persistence 15 making mistakes

0% 25% 50% 75% 100% 50% 25% 0%

agree or strongly agree

Note: Numbers inside the figure correspond to percentages.

Source: OECD, PISA 2022 Database, Tables III.B1.5.2, III.B1.5.4, III.B1.5.11, III.B1.5.19, III.B1.5.23, III.B1.5.29, and
III.B1.5.33.

• In Mexico, 86% of students agreed or strongly agreed that it is possible to be creative in nearly any
subject, compared to 82% on average across OECD countries. These students outscored those
with a narrower view of creativty, by 3.5 points accounting for students’ and schools’ socio-
economic characteristics. Yet, 59% of students in Mexico think that their creativity is something
about them that they cannot change very much – a “fixed mindset” that is associated with a 0.9-
point lower score on average across OECD countries, accounting for the same characteristics.
• In general, students reported relatively high levels of imagination, openness to intellect, and
creative self-efficacy. These are attitudes that relate positively to their creative thinking
performance, on average across OECD countries. In Mexico, 91% of students agreed or strongly
agreed that doing something creative satisfies them, while only 32% said they have difficulty using
their imagination. The former scored significantly higher than their peers, while the latter scored
significantly lower, accounting for students’ and schools’ characteristics.
• Some social-emotional characteristics, such as curiosity, perspective taking, and persistence, were
also identified as distinctive markers of creative thinkers.In Mexico, 84% of students like to know
how things work, 65% want to understand why people behave the way they do, and 64% complete
tasks even when they become more difficult than they thought. On average across OECD
countries, those students performed significantly better on the creative thinking test than their peers
with similar socio-economic characteristics.
• In Mexico, 88% of 15-year-old students expect to complete at least a higher education degree
(ISCED 5 or higher; OECD average: 70%). On average across OECD countries, those students
demonstrated a stronger creative thinking proficiency than their peers, even after accounting for
their mathematics and reading performance and socio-economic characteristics. Furthermore, 4%
of students in Mexico expect to work a job in the creative and cultural sectors at 30 years old –
while 1% report having a parent working such a job. On average across OECD countries,
accounting for gender and socio-economic characteristics, students aspiring to a career in the
creative and cultural sectors scored significantly higher than their peers on the creative thinking
test, by 1.1 points. For comparison, those who expect to work as managers or professionals
outscored their peers by 0.7 points.

PISA 2022 RESULTS (VOLUME III): FACTSHEETS – MEXICO © OECD 2024

7
How conducive to creativity is the school environment in Mexico?
Pedagogies and activities encouraging creative thinking

Figure 7. Pedagogies conducive to creative thinking

Mexico
OECD average

My teachers give me enough 77

time to come up with
creative solutions on assignments 63

My teachers value 82
student creativity 70

My teachers encourage me to 76
come up with original answers 64

At school, I am given 81
a chance to express my ideas 69

0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

agree or strongly agree

Note: Numbers inside the figure correspond to percentages.

Source: OECD, PISA 2022 Database, Table III.B1.6.1.

• In Mexico, 77% of students reported that their teachers give them enough time to come up with
creative solutions on assignments (OECD average: 63%). Across participating countries and
economies, students who said their teachers value student creativity (82% in Mexico) are more
likely to score well in the creative thinking test, especially on tasks that require evaluating and
improving ideas, an ideation process that appears generally more easily amenable than generating
diverse or creative ideas.
• Students in Mexico also have access to art (59%), drama (30%), creative writing (31%) or computer
programming (30%) classes/activities once a week or more at school, according to their school
principals; they are attended by respectively 24%, 12%, 22% and 20% of students (OECD
averages: 27%, 11%, 16%, and 17%).

Digital activities
• Digitalisation is transforming the social environment of 15-year-old students, at school as well as
outside of it. In Mexico, 55% of students use digital tools for learning purposes for one hour a day
or more at school, and 45% outside of school on a typical weekend day (OECD averages: 55%
and 50%). In general, this type of use appears positively but modestly associated with students’
performance in creative thinking, up to a certain point – as is the case with their performance in
mathematics.
• Using digital tools for leisure purposes, however, plays out differently on students’ creative thinking
performance. In Mexico, 26% of students spend more than one hour a day on digital leisure
activities while at school (OECD average: 35%). On average across OECD countries, this context
and type of use relate negatively to students creative thinking performance. However, students in
Mexico who spend more than one hour a day on digital tools for leisure outside of school, e.g. on
a typical weekend day, scored 1.6 points higher than their peers, accounting for gender and
students’ and schools’ socio-economic profiles. This represents 63% of students in Mexico, and
80% on average across OECD countries.

PISA 2022 RESULTS (VOLUME III): FACTSHEETS – MEXICO © OECD 2024

8
Key features of the PISA 2022 Creative Thinking test
PISA in 2022
• PISA 2022 was implemented in 81 countries and economies. Results for mathematics, reading and
science were released on 5 December 2023, and reported in PISA 2022 Volumes I and II as well
as in this factsheet for Mexico.

• For the first time in 2022, 64 countries and economies also implemented the PISA Creative
Thinking cognitive test, including Mexico. Ten more countries and economies implemented the
creative thinking items in the background questionnaires.

The Creative Thinking test

• PISA defines creative thinking as the ability to generate, evaluate and improve ideas to produce
original and effective solutions, advance knowledge and create impactful expressions of
imagination”.
• The PISA 2022 Creative Thinking test consists of 32 tasks designed to measure three ideation
processes: generating diverse ideas, generating creative ideas, and evaluating and improving
ideas. It encompasses both divergent and convergent cognitive processes associated with “little-c”
creativity; in other words, it measures the types of creative thinking skills that 15-year-old students
around the world can reasonably demonstrate in “everyday” contexts.
• The test also aimed to measure different applications of creative thinking, given that the capacity
to generate relevant and innovative ideas depends on knowledge and practice in specific domains.
The tasks are thus situated in four domain contexts: written expression, visual expression, social
problem solving, and scientific problem solving.
• Every task being open-ended, they were essentially infinite ways of demonstrating creative
thinking. Scoring for this assessment therefore relied on human judgement following detailed
scoring rubrics and well-defined coding procedures. Find more details on the test’s items and
coding procedures in Chapter 1, Annex A1, and Annex C of the PISA 2022 Results (Volume III); or
have a go at some of the creative thinking tasks here.
• Students, teachers, school principals and parents also answered questions on their beliefs,
attitudes and practices related to creativity and creative thinking, as part of the PISA background
questionnaires.

The students
• Some 690 000 students took the assessment in 2022, representing about 29 million 15-year-olds
in the schools of the 81 participating countries and economies.
• In Mexico, 6288 students, in 280 schools, completed the assessment in mathematics, reading or
science, representing about 1393 700 15-year-old students (an estimated 64% of the total
population of 15-year-olds).

References
OECD (2023), “PISA 2022 Creative Thinking Framework”, in PISA 2022 Assessment and Analytical
Framework, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/471ae22e-en

OECD (2023), PISA 2022 Results (Volume I): The State of Learning and Equity in Education, PISA, OECD
Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/53f23881-en

OECD (2023), PISA 2022 Results (Volume II): Learning During – and From – Disruption, PISA, OECD
Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/a97db61c-en

OECD (2024), PISA 2022 Results (Volume III): Creative Minds, Creatives Schools, PISA, OECD
Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/765ee8c2-en

OCDE (2024), PISA 2022 Technical Report, PISA, OECD Publishing, Paris,
https://doi.org/10.1787/01820d6d-en

PISA 2022 RESULTS (VOLUME III): FACTSHEETS – MEXICO © OECD 2024

9
 This work is published under the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD. The opinions
expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Member
countries of the OECD.

This document, as well as any data and map included herein, are without prejudice to the status of or
sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the
name of any territory, city or area.

For more information about PISA 2022 visit www.oecd.org/pisa

Explore, compare and visualise more data and analysis using http://gpseducation.oecd.org.

Questions can be directed to the PISA team at the Directorate for Education and Skills: [email protected].

This note was written by Quentin Vidal and Rodolfo Ilizaliturri, Directorate for Education and Skills.

This work is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0

IGO (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO). For specific information regarding the scope and terms of the licence
as well as possible commercial use of this work or the use of PISA data please consult Terms and
Conditions on www.oecd.org.

PISA 2022 RESULTS (VOLUME III): FACTSHEETS – MEXICO © OECD 2024

10