Pakistan's First-Ever Participation in an International Large-Scale Assessment (TIMSS): Critique and Implications

The International Large-Scale Assessment (ILSA) is a rapidly growing field in education which has gained considerable attention of stakeholders across the globe. Historically, ILSA emerged from the developed context which has drifted to the developing contexts in a short span of time due to globalisation. Pakistan has participated in ILSA (i.e., TIMSS) for the first time in the 2019 cycle. In light of the global critique on ILSA, this paper presents a critical analysis on Pakistan's participation in TIMSS by raising questions embedded in contextual realities. The discussion adds to the understanding of ILSA in terms of historical developments, theoretical underpinnings towards participation in ILSA, and the general as well as context-specific critique on ILSA. The paper ends with the argument in favour of strengthening national LSA instead of relying only on ILSA.