Programme for International Student Assessment

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The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a triennial world-wide test of 15-year-old schoolchildren's scholastic performance, developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 1997.

The aim of the PISA study is to test and compare schoolchildren's performance across the world, with a view to improving and standardising educational methods.

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[edit] Development and implementation

Developed from 1997, the first PISA assessment was carried out in 2000; the tests are taken every three years. Every period of assessment specialises in one particular subject but also tests the other main areas studied.

In 2000, 265 000 students from 32 countries took part in PISA; 28 of them were OECD member countries. In 2002 the same tests were taken by 11 more "partner" countries (i.e. non-OECD members). The main focus of the 2000 tests was reading literacy, with two thirds of the questions being on that subject.

Over 275 000 students took part in PISA 2003, which was conducted in 41 countries, including all 30 OECD countries. (Britain, however, failed to test enough children, so it was not included in the international comparisons.) The focus was mathematics literacy, testing real-life situations in which mathematics is useful. Problem solving was also tested for the first time.

In 2006, 56 countries are participating, and the main focus of PISA 2006 is science literacy. In 2009 reading literacy will again be the main focus, giving the first opportunity to measure improvements in that domain.

[edit] Comparison with TIMSS and PIRLS

Another international mathematics assessment test is the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), undertaken by the International Association for Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). Results from the TIMSS often contradict results of the PISA test. The PISA mathematics literacy test includes educational matter such as fuzzy maths: the general topics of quantity, space and shape, change and relationships, and uncertainty (Chapter 1 of the publication "PISA 2003 Assessment Framework", pdf). TIMSS, on the other hand, measures more traditional classroom content such as an understanding of fractions and decimals and the relationship between them. It divides mathematical domains into two dimensions: first, the more fuzzy-maths-based "cognitive domains" and secondly more traditional "contents domains". The cognitive domains it covers are "Knowing Facts and Procedures, Using Concepts, Solving Routine Problems and Reasoning", and the contents domains are "Number, Algebra, Measurement, Geometry and Data". The latter reflect "the importance of being able to continue comparisons of achievement with previous assessments in these content domains" (TIMSS Assessment Framework 2003, pdf) PISA argues that international assessment should not be restricted to a set body of knowledge. Instead, it deals with education's application to real-life problems and life-long learning.

In reading literacy, the equivalent to TIMSS is the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study or PIRLS. In the PISA reading literacy test, students are not penalised for faulty spelling, grammar and punctuation. The OECD explains: "OECD/PISA does not measure the extent to which 15-year-old students are fluent readers or how competent they are at word recognition tasks or spelling". Instead, they should be able to "construct, extend and reflect on the meaning of what they have read across a wide range of continuous and non-continuous texts" (Chapter 2 of the publication "PISA 2003 Assessment Framework", pdf) PIRLS, on the other hand, describes reading literacy as "the ability to understand and use those written language forms required by society and/or valued by the individual." (Chapter 1 of PIRLS 2006 Assessment Framework, pdf)-- PIRLS includes using language forms in reading literacy. However, according to the IEA, in scoring the PIRLS tests, "the focus is solely on students’ understanding of the text, not on their ability to write well." (Chapter 4 of PIRLS 2006 Assessment Framework, pdf).

[edit] Method of testing

The students tested by PISA are aged between 15 years and 3 months and 16 years and 2 months at the beginning of the assessment period. The school year pupils are in is not taken into consideration. Only students at school are tested, not home-schoolers. In PISA 2006 several countries will however also use a grade based sample of students. This will make it possible also to study how age and school year interact.

Each student takes a two-hour handwritten test. Part of the test is multiple-choice and part involves fuller answers. In total there are six and a half hours of assessment material, but each student is not tested on all the parts. Participating students also answer a questionnaire on their background including learning habits, motivation and family. School directors also fill in a questionnaire describing school demographics, funding etc.

[edit] Results

The results of each period of assessment normally take at least a year to be analysed. The first results for PISA 2000 came out in 2001 (OECD, 2001a) and 2003 (OECD, 2003c), and were followed by thematic reports studying particular aspects of the results. The evaluation of PISA 2003 was published in two volumes: Learning for Tomorrow’s World: First Results from PISA 2003 (OECD, 2004) and Problem Solving for Tomorrow’s World – First Measures of Cross-Curricular Competencies from PISA 2003 (OECD, 2004d)

Here is an overview of the six places with the highest scores in 2003:

Mathematics Reading literacy Science Problem solving
1. Hong Kong 550
2. Finland 544
3. South Korea 542
4. Netherlands 538
5. Liechtenstein 536
6. Japan 534
1. Finland 543
2. South Korea 534
3. Canada 528
4. Australia 525
5. Liechtenstein 525
6. New Zealand 522
1. Finland 548
1. Japan 548
3. Hong Kong 539
4. South Korea 538
5. Liechtenstein 525
5. Australia 525
5. Macao 525
1. South Korea 550
2. Finland 548
2. Hong Kong 548
4. Japan 547
5. New Zealand 533
6. Macao 532

In 2003, in literacy Finland came first overall, followed by Korea, with Canada third. At the bottom of the list came Indonesia. In science, Finland, Japan, Hong Kong and Korea had roughly equal scores. In problem-solving, South Korea came first, with Finland and Hong Kong second.

Professor Jouni Välijärvi was in charge of the Finnish PISA study: he believed that the high Finnish score was due both to the excellent Finnish teachers and to Finland's 1990s LUMA programme which was developed to improve children's skills in mathematics and natural sciences. He also drew attention to the Finnish school system which teaches the same curriculum to all pupils. Indeed individual Finnish students' results did not vary a great deal and all schools had similar scores.

On the other hand, Finnish professor Pauli Siljander believes that Finland's good results are due to many socio-political decisions, factors related to the history of ideas and education, macro-level changes affecting the educational system and learning theoretical ideas and practical measures, in which the various contributing factors are linked firmly to each other. He emphasizes that education is an important project in the Finnish welfare state. Therefore education cannot be considered in separation from the socio-political context. (Siljander, 2005)

An evaluation of the 2003 results showed that the countries which spent more on education did not necessarily do better than those which spent less. Australia, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Japan, Korea and the Netherlands spent less but did relatively well, whereas the United States spent much more but was below the OECD average. The Czech Republic, in the top ten, spent only one third as much per student as the United States did, for example, but the USA came 24th out of 29 countries compared. This may be due to the large difference between teacher salaries in different countries. The average American teacher is paid around US$40,000 (~€30,000) per year. The average Finnish teacher is paid €25,000 per year.

Compared with 2000, Poland, Belgium, the Czech Republic and Germany all improved their results. In fact, apparently due to the changes to the school system following PISA 2000, Polish students had above average reading skills in PISA 2003; in PISA 2000 they were near the bottom of the list.

Another point made in the evaluation was that students with higher-earning parents are better-educated and tend to achieve higher results. This was true in all the countries tested, although more obvious in certain countries, such as Germany.

[edit] Reactions to the results

For many countries, the first PISA results were a rude awakening; in Germany, for example, the comparatively low scores brought on heated debate about how the school system should be changed. Other countries had an agreeable surprise. Some headlines in national newspapers, for example, were:

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  • Kertz-Welzel, Alexandra. Every Child For Music: Musikpädagogik und Musikunterricht in den USA. Musikwissenschaft/Musikpädagogik in der Blauen Eule, no. 74. Essen, Germany: Verlag Die Blaue Eule, 2006. ISBN 3-89924-169-X.
  • Siljander, Pauli: Bildung und Wohlfahrtsstaat, Die Deutsche Schule, 4/05.

[edit] External links

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