The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a triennial international survey which aims to evaluate education systems worldwide by testing the skills and knowledge of 15-year-old students who are nearing the end of their compulsory education. PISA assesses how well they can apply what they learn in school to real-life situations. Over 90 countries have participated in the assessment so far which began in 2000. Every three years students are tested in the key subjects: reading, mathematics and science.

The development in robotics and Artificial Intelligence will make machines better at routine tasks, and then humans will need to focus on the skills that remain exclusive to them: creativity, collaboration, communication, and problem-solving. They will also need to adapt quickly as more and more skills fall prey to automation. Thus it connotes that the 21st-century classroom will have to focus on the strengths and interests of each person, rather than impart a canonical set of knowledge which were suited for the industrial age.