Search

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) assesses the performance of 15-year-old students in reading, mathematics, and science. In Ireland, information from PISA is highly valued by the Department of Education (DoE) as a guide to inform policy-making. Since Ireland first participated (2000), PISA testing has taken place in the Spring (March/April). This is a particularly busy time in schools for the 60% of PISA-eligible students who are in Third Year of post-primary education. As a consequence, moving PISA testing to the Autumn (October/November) has been on the agenda of Irish policy makers for some time. While research in the United States found no statistically significant difference in performance on PISA tests administered during the Spring and Autumn 2003, research exploring the issue in an Irish context had never been conducted. The research at the heart of this thesis was designed primarily to compare the performance of 15-year-olds across Spring and Autumn administrations of the PISA tests in Ireland. Data analysed came from administrations of PISA tests and background questionnaires in the Spring and Autumn of 2018, from bespoke questionnaires administered to subject teachers and from interviews conducted with school principals. Results indicated that, overall, there was no statistically significant difference between the performance of 15-year-olds in PISA tests administered across the two time periods. However, multi-level modelling involving the interaction between time of testing and gender indicated that testing in the Autumn was associated with lower mathematics scores for males. Of particular note was the statistically significant higher percentage of low-achieving males in the Autumn administration of the tests (21.4%) compared to the Spring administration (15.7%). Other outcomes with respect to similarities and differences in student engagement, motivation and wellbeing when measured in the Spring and Autumn are also presented in the thesis. The implications of the findings for policy and practice related to PISA testing as well as avenues for further research are discussed.

Ecuador’s abysmal level of English according to the EF English Proficiency Index has become a habitual reference point when discussing English learning in Ecuador. This essay questions three assumptions implied by this international ranking: that it represents Ecuador’s language proficiency; that it offers a meaningful comparison between countries; and that concern for language proficiency is equivalent to concern for equity. Inspired by critical studies of international large-scale assessments, the principle that quantitative data is not neutral, and the concept that the index represents a discourse, I argue that this index is not as objective or trustworthy as it may appear and that the authority it is granted is worrisome for Ecuadorian education. El bajo nivel de las y los ecuatorianos en inglés, según el EF English Proficiency Index, se ha vuelto un punto de referencia habitual al tratar el aprendizaje del idioma en el país. Este ensayo cuestiona tres suposiciones implícitas del ranking internacional: que representa el dominio del inglés en Ecuador, que presenta una comparación significativa entre países, y que preocuparse por las habilidades lingüísticas es preocuparse por la equidad. Inspirándome en estudios críticos de las evaluaciones internacionales a gran escala, en el principio de parcialidad de los datos cuantitativos y en el concepto del índice como discurso, argumento que este no es tan objetivo ni confiable como puede parecer, y que la autoridad que se le otorga es preocupante para la educación ecuatoriana.

This paper presents the most relevant aspects of a research project conducted between 2017 and 2018 whose primary purpose was to understand better what has changed in the Portuguese school system that may have contributed to the improved performance of Portuguese students in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). The method used, qualitative in nature, was designed to collect data in each of the following domains: knowledge produced within the scope of PISA; public education policies that have developed since the publication, in 1986, of the Basic Law of the Education System (LBSE); perceptions of stakeholders (teachers, principals and school inspectors) about the relationships between public education policies and the improvement of student performance. The research results showed that the programs that have materialized public policies in the last three decades are related to significant improvements in the organization and pedagogical functioning of schools, in teachers' teaching practices, and their cooperation and collaboration processes. These policies and these improvements may help understand the increasingly positive performance of Portuguese students in PISA. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Math anxiety is a common affective disorder in students that is characterized by intrusive thoughts that disrupt critical cognitive resources required for math problem-solving. Consistent associations between math anxiety and math achievement have been observed across countries and age groups, placing math anxiety among other important correlates of math achievement, such as socioeconomic status and magnitude representation ability. However, studies examining math anxiety's relation to achievement have largely focused on the effect of students' own math anxiety (individual effect), while little is known regarding the effect of math anxiety in students' educational context (contextual effect). Using three international studies of achievement (n = 1,175,515), we estimated both the individual and contextual effects of math anxiety across the globe. Results suggest that while there are consistent individual effects in virtually all countries examined, the contextual effects are varied, with only approximately half of the countries exhibiting a contextual effect. Additionally, we reveal that teacher confidence in teaching math is associated with a reduction of the individual effect, and country's level of uncertainty avoidance is related to a lessening of the contextual effect. Finally, we uncovered multiple predictors of math anxiety; notably, student perception of teacher competence was negative related with math anxiety, and parental homework involvement was positively related with math anxiety. Taken together, these results suggest that there are significant between-country differences in how math anxiety may be related with math achievement and suggest that education and cultural contexts as important considerations in understanding math anxiety's effects on achievement.

Articolul respectiv relevă unele aspecte specifice evaluărilor internaționale PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) și dimensiunile politicilor educaționale din Republica Moldova. Alfabetizarea și realizările elevilor la vârsta de 15 ani, precum și analiza resurselor investite în educație din perspectiva calității instruirii. În perioada 2009-2020, în Republica Moldova s-au realizat mai multe linii directoare și reforme ce vizează doctrina și esența sistemului de învățământ. Examinând parcursul istoric (2000), OECD (Organizația pentru Cooperare și Dezvoltare Economică) organizează periodic evaluări internaționale în cadrul programului pentru evaluarea elevilor. Eșantioane de elevi cu vârste cuprinse între 15 și 16 ani, care au absolvit un anumit ciclu școlar, din diferite țări ale lumii, participă la această testare, ce-și propune să stabilească, pe o scară de evaluare cotată cu 1000 de puncte, nivelul de alfabetizare (eng. Literacy: „abilitatea de a citi și de a scrie; competențe sau cunoștințe într-un anumit domeniu“). The article reveals some aspects specific to the international assessments of PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) and the dimensions of educational policies in the Republic of Moldova. Literacy and student achievement at the age of 15, as well as analysis of resources invested in education from the perspective of training quality. During 2009-2020, several guidelines and reforms were implemented in the Republic of Moldova regarding the doctrine and essence of the education system. Examining the historical course (2000), the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) regularly organizes international evaluations within the program for the evaluation of students. Samples of students aged between 15 and 16, who have completed a certain school year, from different countries of the world, participate in this test, which aims to establish, on an evaluation scale rated at 1000 points, the level literacy ("literacy: the ability to read and write; skills or knowledge in a particular field")., Crișciuc, Viorica. Performanțele elevilor din Republica Moldova în cadrul evaluărilor internaționale PISA / Viorica Crișciuc // Managementul educaţional: realizări şi perspective de dezvoltare: Materialele Conferinţei ştiinţifico-practice internaţionale, Ed. a 3-a, 08 mai 2020 – Bălţi: S. n., 2020. – P. 132-137. – ISBN 978-9975-3422-5-4.

The development of international surveys on children’s learning like PISA, PIRLS and TIMSS—delivering comparable achievement measures across educational systems—has revealed large cross-country variability in average performance and in the degree of inequality across social groups. A key question is whether and how institutional differences affect the level and distribution of educational outcomes. In this contribution, we discuss the difference-in-differences strategies employed in the existing literature to evaluate the effect of early tracking on learning inequalities exploiting international assessments administered at different age/grades. In their seminal paper, Hanushek and Woessmann (Econ J 116:C63–C76, 2006) analyze with two-step estimation the effect of early tracking onoverallinequalities, measured by test scores’ variability indexes. Later work of other scholars in the economics and sociology of education focuses instead on inequalities among children of differentfamily background, using individual-level models on pooled data from different countries and assessments. In this contribution, we show that individual pooled difference-in-differences models are quite restrictive and that in essence they estimate the effect of tracking by double differentiating the estimated cross-sectional family background regression coefficients between tracking regimes and learning assessments. Starting from a simple learning growth model, we show that if test scores at different surveys are not measured on the same scale, as occurs for international learning assessments, pooled individual models may deliver severely biased results. Instead, the scaling problem does not affect the two-step approach. For this reason, we suggest using two-step estimation also to analyzefamily-backgroundachievement inequalities. Against this background, using PIRLS-2006 and PISA-2012 we conduct two-step analyses, finding new evidence that early tracking fosters both overall inequalities and family background differentials in reading literacy.

This study uses a quantitative content analysis of learning competences – as described and prescribed in 21st century frameworks – and those competences evaluated by international assessments to explore the nexus between recommendation and reality. In drawing insights from the theoretical underpinnings of human capital theory we argue, with respect to creativity, that (i) there is a degree of alignment in the prescription and assessment of creativity as a learning competence and (ii) there is a divergence in the way the competence is discussed, which may account for the lack of acknowledgement as a key skill in preparing students for employment in the knowledge-based economy. These findings suggest a discrepancy between recommendation and reality in that the international frameworks consistently place creativity in the top five highest priority learning competences being prescribed while one of the two international assessments examined places it in the top five highest priority learning competences being assessed. Based on the discourse examined in the documents, we assert that schools need to adjust how and when creativity is discussed, ensuring it is included in every subject. This will ensure students link creativity and innovation in every subject area and, subsequently, every industry in the knowledge-based economy. By making this shift, schools will help students ensure long-term employability as the knowledge-based economy transforms into the intelligent economy.

This paper introduces intsvy, an R package for working with international assessment data (e.g., PISA, TIMSS, PIRLS). The package includes functions for importing data, performing data analysis, and visualizing results. The paper describes the underlying methodology and provides real data examples. Tools for importing data allow useRs to select variables from student, home, school, and teacher survey instruments as well as for specific countries. Data analysis functions take into account the complex sample design (with replicate weights) and rotated test forms (with plausible values of achievement scores) in the calculation of point estimates and standard errors of means, standard deviations, regression coefficients, correlation coefficients, and frequency tables. Visualization tools present data aggregates in standardized graphical form.

A scale that does not measure the same structure in different cultures should not be used in the cross-cultural comparison-based studies. The validity of the scales should be tested primarily for the countries. In this study, as the evidence of validity of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015 science self-efficacy scale, the measurement invariance has been tested for different cultures. As determined in scientific studies, general self-efficacy is focused on more and this should be examined in academic self-efficacy known to be to student learning and achievement. In the analysis of the data, the measurement model is initially tested. Then, the measurement invariance is tested with a series of analysis. As a result, the scale confirms a unidimensional structure for each country. However, it has provided partial measurement invariance. This indicates that item-based analysis should be conducted.

Straipsnyje pristatomos Lietuvos bendrojo ugdymo turinio (toliau – UT) formavimo tendencijos, į jas žvelgiant kaip į tarptautinių tyrimų nulemtus pokyčius. Teoriniu pagrindu analizuojamas švietimas atsižvelgiant į globalizacijos kontekstą. Pateikiama UT veikiančių jėgų – tarptautinių organizacijų apžvalga. Gilinamasi į EBPO vykdomą tarptautinį penkiolikmečių pasiekimų tyrimą (PISA) bei jo įtaką užsienio valstybių švietimo sistemoms. Remiantis pusiau struktūruoto ekspertų interviu metu surinktų duomenų analize ir teorine tyrimo dalimi, identifikuojama tarptautinių tyrimų įtaka Lietuvos bendrajam UT. Išvadose teigiama, kad dėl tarptautinių lyginamųjų tyrimų koncentruojantis į aukštus pasiekimus ir įgūdžius su gamyba susijusiose disciplinose, Lietuvos bendrasis ugdymo turinys siaurėja, taip atsitraukdamas nuo švietimo kaip holistinio socialinės sanglaudos stiprinimo ir visuomenės gerovės didinimo šaltinio. Atsižvelgiant į tai, keltini pagrįsti Lietuvos švietimo politikos kryptingumo klausimai. The main goal of this article is to analyze the trends of general curriculum development in the context of international assessments. A brief review of international organizations and international researches affecting the curriculum is provided. This article in detail analyzes the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), carried out by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), with a triennial international survey, which is aimed to evaluate education systems worldwide by testing the skills and knowledge of 15-year-old students and the influence the program has on the education systems of foreign countries: Germany, Japan, and Denmark. In addition, this article analyzes the potential influence of the said survey on the general curriculum in Lithuania. The last part describes the methodological particularities of the empirical survey and performs the analysis of data collected during the semi-structured interviews of experts. The participants of the survey are education experts, whose current activities and experience are related to the general curriculum and the factors affecting its changes. A deeper and critical part of the study consists of the conclusions, which, based on expert opinions, identify the impact of international surveys on the general curriculum of Lithuania. Changes observed in other countries that have suffered from the so called “PISA shock” can also be seen in the Lithuanian education system. The conclusions state that, as a result of international comparative surveys which focus on high scores in production-related subjects and skills, the general curriculum of Lithuania becomes narrower, thus undermining the educational notion of developing holistic social cohesion and prosperity for society. Taking this into account, rightful questions regarding the direction of Lithuanian education policy are raised.

Si miramos hacia Europa en estos momentos, podemos apreciar la gran pluralidad educativa que existe, fruto de los países que la componen. Si diversos son los sistemas escolares, diversos son también los resultados y las cifras educativas que caracterizan a cada uno de ellos. A lo largo del artículo advertimos que las evaluaciones internacionales se han convertido en una herramienta controvertible aunque, en ocasiones, eficaz y aprovechable para conocer los modelos educativos de cada país. Nos detenemos en el Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) y analizamos diversos indicadores educativos con especial mención a la equidad en Europa y, más concretamente, en los países miembros de la Unión Europea. En general, las evaluaciones a gran escala ofrecen un material excelente para conocer el estado actual de los sistemas educativos, para valorar las tendencias o para definir los nuevos desafíos. Su influencia sobre las políticas educativas es notoria. Se olharmos agora para a Europa, podemos apreciar a grande pluralidade educativa, fruto dos países que a compõem. Se os sistemas escolares são diversos, os resultados e as figuras educacionais que caracterizam cada um deles também são diversos. Ao longo do artigo notamos que as avaliações internacionais se tornaram uma ferramenta controversa, embora às vezes eficazes e utilizáveis, daí ser imortante conhecer modelos educacionais de cada país. Analisamos o Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) e vários indicadores educacionais com referência à equidade na Europa e, mais especificamente, nos países membros da União Europeia. Em geral, as avaliações em larga escala oferecem excelente material para conhecer o estado atual dos sistemas educacionais, para avaliar tendências ou para definir novos desafios. A sua influência nas políticas educativas é bem conhecida. If we look at Europe at this moment, we can appreciate the great educational plurality, which is product of the countries that compose this region. If the school systems are diverse, the results and educational figures that characterize each one of them are also diverse. Throughout the article we notice that international evaluations have become a controversial tool although, sometimes, these evaluations are effective and usable to get to know the educational models of each country. We look at the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and we analyse various educational indicators with special reference to equity in Europe and, more specifically, in the member States of the European Union. In general, large-scale evaluations offer excellent material for finding out the current state of education systems, for assessing trends or for defining new challenges. Their influence on education policies is well known.

Pour les évaluations scolaires internationales, les questions de traduction du matériel de test constituent un enjeu méthodologique majeur pour éviter toute objection sérieuse à leur visée de comparer, malgré les différences de langues, les niveaux de compétences des élèves. À ce titre, le Programme international de suivi des acquis des élèves (PISA), souvent présenté comme la référence actuelle pour ce type d’évaluations, développe une réflexion d’une grande solidité concernant ses propres démarches de traduction. Pourtant, une analyse détaillée de différentes versions (en anglais, arabe, espagnol, français et portugais) d’un exercice tiré du PISA dans le domaine de la compréhension de l’écrit permet de décrire plusieurs problèmes liés à des choix lexicaux, syntaxiques ou discursifs. Si toute entreprise de traduction est discutable, ce travail critique, ici réalisé au-regard des principes mêmes que s’est donnés le PISA, nous permettra non seulement de discuter les limites des résultats obtenus et de leur comparabilité, mais interrogera plus largement une certaine conception des langues et de la lecture que véhicule cette évaluation internationale de la littéracie des élèves. For international school assessments, the problems of the translation of the test material, are an important methodological challenge in order to avoid any serious objection to their aim to compare, despite the differences in languages, the skill levels of students. It’s the reason why the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), often considered as the current reference for this type of evaluation, develops a very solid reflection concerning its own translation processes. However, a detailed analysis of different versions (in English, Arabic, Spanish, French and Portuguese) of a PISA exercise in the field of reading literacy can uncover several problems related to lexical, syntactic or discursive choices and consider their consequences. If any translation can indeed be questionable, this critical work, that was done by taking into account the very principles adopted by the PISA, will enable us not only to discuss the limits of the results obtained and their comparability, but will also question a certain way of thinking the language and the reading in this international assessment of student literacy.

Spearheaded by the European Union Center of the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and financed by the European Commission through the allocation of the Get to Know Europe (G.T.K.E.) grant, the Transatlantic Educators Dialogue (T.E.D) promotes educational and public diplomacy as well as transatlantic cooperation as means to explore challenges facing our educational systems in a context of international assessments, growing mobility and tensions across the globe. Intercultural in its core and conception, T.E.D. is an innovative online program for educational experts in the European Union and in the United States of America to come together for a shared examination of a variety of transversal topics, such as immigration, religion in education, active teaching methods and issues related to identity and difference. This article is based on the premise that one of the ways to develop intercultural education and global skills is to invest in the development of inclusive and intercultural networks of educational expertise.

Spearheaded by the European Union Center of the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and financed by the European Commission through the allocation of the Get to Know Europe (G.T.K.E.) grant, the Transatlantic Educators Dialogue (T.E.D) promotes educational and public diplomacy as well as transatlantic cooperation as means to explore challenges facing our educational systems in a context of international assessments, growing mobility and tensions across the globe. Intercultural in its core and conception, T.E.D. is an innovative online program for educational experts in the European Union and in the United States of America to come together for a shared examination of a variety of transversal topics, such as immigration, religion in education, active teaching methods and issues related to identity and difference. This article is based on the premise that one of the ways to develop intercultural education and global skills is to invest in the development of inclusive and intercultural networks of educational expertise.

Colombian results related to international assessments (TIMSS, PISA and SERCE) generate a critical reflection about our educational quality, regardless scores since 20 years ago (TIMSS, 1995). Understanding relevance of these assessments demands understanding the concept of “quality of education” based on the UNESCO proposal, particularly those components of equality, relevance and adequacy to any process linked to student learning, which aims to solve the four major challenges facing education – overcoming poverty, reduce inequalities, fight corruption, and strengthen democracy. But this proposal is not detached from learning, something critical to the educational process. Howard Gardner mainly focused to a comprehensive formation of the human being involved in several social processes. Neither the proposed disclaims emotional intelligence as an essential component of the teacher-student relationship, which provides something significant to the knowledge acquisition and human development. Finally, it is very important to analyze particularly how those results are produced in international assessments, showing its usefulness in order to understand the educational processes. The final reflection highlights school/reality linkage related to student learning and student/teacher relationship where a possibility to improve the educational quality is based on the educational system (standards) proposed. Los resultados de Colombia en las evaluaciones internacionales (TIMSS, PISA y SERCE) permiten una reflexión seria sobre la calidad de la educación del país, más allá de ocupar los últimos lugares desde hace 20 años (TIMSS, 1995).Para entender el significado de estas evaluaciones, es necesario comprender el sentido del concepto “calidad de la educación” para lo cual se toma, como fundamento, la propuesta de UNESCO, en particular los elementos de equidad, relevancia y pertinencia de todo el proceso y los aprendizajes de los estudiantes; propuesta que pretende resolver los cuatro grandes desafíos de la educación: superar la pobreza, reducir las desigualdades, combatir la corrupción y consolidar la democracia.Propuesta que no está desligado del aprendizaje, hecho vital para el proceso educativo. En este punto se rescata la definición de Howard Gardner enfocada, principalmente, a la formación integral del ser humano inscrito en los procesos sociales. Tampoco se desliga la propuesta de la inteligencia emocional como elemento esencial de la relación maestro-estudiante, que contribuye sustancialmente a la apropiación del conocimiento y al desarrollo del ser humano.Por último, pero no menos importante para la comprensión y reflexión de los resultados de Colombia, se trata el tema de la forma particular como se producen los resultados en las evaluaciones internacionales, mostrando su utilidad, mucha o poca, en la comprensión de los procesos educativos.La reflexión final apunta a destacar la correspondencia escuela-realidad en cuanto a lo que aprende un estudiante y la relación docente-estudiante, en donde reside la posibilidad de mejorar la calidad de la educación, partiendo del hecho que lo que se propone el sistema educativo (estándares) es lo apropiado. Os resultados da Colômbia nas avaliações internacionais (TIMSS, PISA e SERCE) permitem uma reflexão seria sobre a qualidade da educação no pais, além de ocupar os últimos postos há mais de 20 anos (TIMSS 1995). Para entender o significado destas avaliações, precisasse compreender o sentido do concepto “qualidade da educação” para o qual tomasse como fundamento a proposta da UNESCO, particularmente os elementos de equidade, relevância e pertinência de todo o processo mesmo quanto os aprendizados dos estudantes; proposta que pretende resolver os quatro desafios da educação: superar a pobreza, reduzir desigualdades, combater a corrupção e consolidar a democracia. Proposta aí que não está desligada da aprendizagem, e fato crucial para o processo educativo. Neste ponto resgatasse a definição de Howard Gardner, focalizada principalmente à formação integral do ser humano inscrito em processos sociais. Também não se desliga a proposta da inteligência emocional como elemento essencial na relação mestre-aluno, que contribui fortemente à apropriação do conhecimento e ao mesmo tempo ao desenvolvimento do ser humano. Finalmente, mas não menos importante para a compreensão e a reflexão dos resultados da Colômbia, tratasse o tema do jeito particular no qual são produzidos os resultados nas avaliações internacionais, mostrando sua utilidade, muita o escassa, na compreensão dos processos educativos. A reflexão final aponta a destacar a correspondência escola-realidade ao respeito dos aprendizados de um estudante e a relação mestre-aluno, onde reside a possibilidade de melhorar a qualidade da educação, partindo do fato que o que se propõe no sistema educativo (estándares) é o adequado.

In recent decades, the use of large-scale standardized international assessments has increased drastically as a way to evaluate and compare the quality of education across countries. In order to make valid international comparisons, the primary requirement is to ensure the measurement equivalence between the different language versions of these assessments due to their multilingual and cross-cultural nature. In this study, we investigated the measurement equivalence of one of the most popular international assessments, PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment), between U.S. and Canadian, Hong Kong and mainland Chinese, and U.S. and mainland Chinese students. Both unidimensional and multidimensional random coefficient multinomial logit model (RCML) were applied to detect differential item functioning (DIF). Furthermore, we exerted great efforts to identify possible explanations of DIF via detailed content analyses. The results showed that the number of DIF items is the smallest between Canadian and U.S. students and the largest between U.S. and Chinese students. We also noticed that for all three comparisons the number of DIF items reduced significantly when we analyzed the data using the multidimensional approach. Our content analysis revealed that language difference only accounted for a small proportion of DIF between U.S. and Chinese students, whereas differential curriculum coverage was found to be the most serious cause of DIF in both the Hong Kong-Mainland and the U.S.-Chinese comparisons. In addition, we found that differential content familiarity is also a potential cause of DIF. Further investigations of more potential sources of item bias require the collection of additional data.