Education Minister Mirela Kumbaro said PISA school selection follows rules set by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the international consortium managing the assessment. She said the Education Ministry cannot arbitrarily choose or change participating schools.

According to Kumbaro, international sampling procedures aim to ensure statistical representation of the pre-university education system. She rejected claims that officials excluded schools for political reasons. Instead, she said the process follows international statistical procedures established before testing begins.

Meanwhile, Kumbaro said 97.37% of students in the selected schools took part in PISA 2025. The OECD requires at least 80% student participation within selected schools. Albania’s school participation rate stood at around 80%, compared with the 85% technical standard cited by Kumbaro. She stressed that these are two separate participation measures. The school sample did not follow a simple urban-rural division.

Kumbaro also said the number of participating students remained practically unchanged. About 6,000 students took part in PISA 2022, compared with 5,959 in 2025. She said the figures did not support claims of deliberate manipulation. Almost every selected student attended the assessment and had their result recorded.

Finally, Albanian students scored 433 points in mathematics, 435 in science and 408 in reading. Kumbaro said Albania ranked ahead of several regional countries in mathematics and science. In computer-based problem solving, Albania also ranked above several neighbouring countries. Compared with 2022, Albania gained 65 points in mathematics, 59 in science and 50 in reading.

/a.p./