implement his recommendations from previous Annual Reports, regarding the connection of the national education system to the minimum standards in the field. The need for changes in the national education system also arises from the findings of the Report prepared under the International Assessment Programme PISA 2018193. PISA is an international study organized every three years to evaluate the world's education systems by testing the skills and knowledge of 15year-old students. The PISA assessment was attended by students from over 80 countries, including 44 middle-income countries. The PISA program assesses the extent to which 15-year-old students, who are completing the compulsory cycle of study, have acquired skills and knowledge essential for full participation in the life of modern society. The assessment is focused on the main school subjects: reading / lecture, mathematics and science. Testing is performed on a computer or paper basis. For the countries that participated in the computer-based assessment, the assessment of students' skills in an innovative field is also organized each time (in 2018 this area was the global competence). In 2018 the Republic of Moldova organized the PISA test on paper. Assessment does not only assess students' ability to reproduce their knowledge; it also examines how well students know how to extrapolate what they have learned and apply the knowledge gained in lesser-known situations, both in and out of school. In the Republic of Moldova, PISA testing took place between March 28-30, 2018. As in all countries, the sample of educational institutions was selected by the OECD, the international organization responsible for the study, based on the complete list of all educational institutions in country with the number of eligible students, submitted by the national authorities. Based on the list of selected educational institutions and the lists of all 15-year-old students in these institutions, submitted by their administrations, the students who participated in the testing were randomly selected. Thus, the evaluation data are representative for the entire population of 15-year-old students in the country. Following the evaluation process, the following were found:  The average score for the Republic of Moldova in PISA Testing 2018 is 421 points in mathematics (compared to the OECD average of 489 points), 424 points in reading / lecture (compared to the OECD average of 487 points) and 428 points in science (compared to the OECD average of 489 points); 193 http://aee.edu.md/sites/default/files/raport_pisa2018.pdf 119