Science and mathematics: Irish students outperformed 18 other countries when it came to science, but received only an average score for mathematical literacy, according to the OECD report.
Irish 15-year-olds ranked 15th in the 27 OECD countries for mathematical literacy. The highest scores for maths were achieved by Japanese students, followed by Korea and New Zealand.
In a group of eight countries that achieved significantly higher-than-average scores in reading literacy, Ireland was alone in not receiving a similarly high score in maths.
Low attainment in this area could have serious consequences for a country's competitiveness and labour market earnings, the report pointed out.
Irish boys performed much better than girls in mathematics. They achieved a mean score that was 13 points higher than that of girls.
The news was better for science, where Irish students were ranked 9th of 27 countries.
However, their average score was still significantly lower than countries such as Korea, Japan, Finland, the UK and Canada.
Like most OECD countries, there was no significant difference between boys and girls where scientific literacy was concerned.
The report also found that Ireland spent significantly less than many countries on its educational institutions.
In 2000, Ireland spent the equivalent of under $5,000 per student, compared with an OECD average of $6,361. Ireland was placed 19th out of 28 countries for its level of spending on schools and colleges.
In contrast, the United States spent an average of over $10,000 per child, while Switzerland spent more than $9,000.
Similarly, Ireland was eighth from the bottom of 26 countries for its spending on primary education.
It spent $3,385 per student on primary schools. Only countries such as Mexico, Poland, Hungary and Greece spent less.
Ireland's spending on pre-school education was dwarfed by its spending on third-level education.
It spent $2,863 per student on pre-primary education, compared with $11,083 on third-level education in 2000.
Second-level schools received $4,638 per student - half the figure spent on schools in Switzerland.
On average, Ireland spent under 3 per cent of its GDP on primary and second-level institutions in 2000, compared with an OECD average of 5.9 per cent.
Ireland's spending on educational institutions fell from 5.3 per cent of GDP to 4.6 per cent between 1995 and 2000.
However, the OECD report pointed out that lower expenditure could not automatically be equated with a lower quality of educational services.
It quoted Ireland as one of the countries with a "moderate" expenditure on education at primary and secondary level, but with one of the highest levels of performance by 15-year-old students in key subject areas.
