U.S. students scored in the middle of the pack among the 44 countries and regions participating in the first-ever international assessment of students’ creative problem-solving skills.

The exam was given as part of the 2012 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) to 85,000 15-year-olds worldwide, including 1,273 from the United States. It defined creative problem-solving as the ability to “understand and resolve problem situations where a method of solution is not immediately obvious.”

With an average score of 508, the U.S. students beat the 500-point average for all test-takers.

Singapore, Korea and Japan came out on top, followed by China, Finland, Canada and Australia. U.S. students performed on par with France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy and several other European countries.

Education Week, April 1