in mathematics of students scored at level or below which indicates that they struggle to undertake very basic operations and interpretations pen the oecd programme for international student assessment pisa which focused on the performance of yearolds in science in shows that costa rica performs well below oecd countries and at no more than the average level for latin america see chapter the high proportion of yearold students who lack basic skills in science and do not reach the level of achievement level regarded as the minimum needed for full socioeconomic participation is one of the largest among pisa participating countries and more than double the average across oecd countries