The OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) was launched to develop indicators to assess the level of knowledge and skills essential for full participation in society acquired by students approaching the end of compulsory education. The first of a planned three-yearly cycle of assessments was undertaken in 32 countries (28 OECD member countries and four non-member countries that chose to participate) during the year 2000 in randomly selected samples of schools and students. PISA assesses the extent to which students near the end of compulsory education have acquired the knowledge and skills that are necessary for full participation in society. it presents evidence on student performance in reading, mathematical skills and scientific literacy, the extent to which students are able to motivate themselves to identify and pursue their own learning goals and it looks at factors that influence the development of knowledge and skills at school and at home. This publication extends the information that PISA provides to additional countries that have recently joined the program: Albania, Argentina, Bulgaria, Chile, Hong Kong-China, Indonesia, Israel, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Peru, Romania and Thailand. It provides new insight into the individual characteristics and family backgrounds that students bring to the learning process and how these interact with the resources and practices that characterise the schools they attend. Considerable variation is shown in levels of skills and knowledge between students, schools and countries, though the report finds that not all of these differences are due to the social and economic conditions in which the students live. It is noted that those countries that have been most successful in mitigating the effect of social disadvantage are among those with the highest levels of student performance.