This Tuesday sees the release of the latest edition of the International Program for Student Development report, better known as the PISA report, which aims to measure whether students have sufficient skills to continue learning and enter the job market. . Based on this data, a plan to improve teaching is created in each country and the numbers are compared internationally and in school settings. It is not a competition between states.
What is PISA?
In the late 1990s, the 34 countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) considered developing tests to measure whether 15-year-olds were ready to participate in society. The first edition was introduced in 2000 to measure math and reading skills; and in 2006 the scientific ones were added. Each edition includes additional questions for one of the skills, this time mathematics.
Over the years, other tests have been integrated that assess skills not so closely related to the subjects and whose results are not known this Tuesday. In 2014, the Financial PISA was carried out, which provides a diagnosis of these skills, and in 2020, results were published for the first time on global skills, which are crucial for analyzing, questioning and proposing solutions to 21st century challenges such as gender equality or poverty are . . From 2025, it will also include assessing students’ English level.
How often do the tests take place?
They are repeated every three years and it takes a year for the results to be known as all factors are analyzed before the final report is published detailing individual income levels. Students took the exam in spring 2022, a year late to this last call because schools were closed due to the pandemic.
Who is being investigated?
A sample of students aged between 15 years and three months and 16 years and two months who have received six years of training – regardless of whether they have repeated vocational training or opted for vocational training – from 81 countries and territories ( 690,000 students, representing 29 million). . That is, students born between January 1st and December 31st, 2006. It was agreed to introduce the test at the age of 15, as almost all countries have children completing their compulsory education, although in developing countries a significant proportion of the most disadvantaged no longer study, predictably improving already low national results.
This edition has the largest representation in history. For the first time, data from Palestine, Uzbekistan, Jamaica and Mongolia will be known. And China, which led in 2018, is not participating due to the pandemic.
Who evaluates?
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) coordinates with the participating countries. Everyone subjects a sample to the test, which can be expanded if there are municipalities in a country that want their own data, which they have to pay for from their own resources. Madrid, for example, budgeted 200,000 euros for PISA 2018. All Spanish autonomous communities are expanding the sample, so the country invests more in the test than others. Some Spanish private schools have started paying for their own tests and promoting themselves in this way. A small country spends around 75,000 euros annually on this test; a large one, around 300,000 euros
What do the tests consist of?
There are two types of tests that have been administered by computer since 2015: knowledge tests, which measure students’ performance, and contextual questionnaires, which students and management teams have to answer. For the first time, mathematical thinking is also included. The goal is to check whether they know how to apply what they learned in school to their lives: whether they understand a form, a recipe, an instruction manual, a graphic, etc. The analysts focus on the results of the tests and questionnaires. The most successful countries identify the characteristics of their education systems that can serve as a reference: How many students are there in the classroom? Are your teachers paid more? Is there a curriculum set by a central government?
How is it scored?
PISA does not scale from 0 to 10 as in Spain, but is based on the differences that exist between all participants. The average score of OECD countries has been set at 500 points and it is estimated that a 40 point difference in a PISA test is equivalent to one academic year (some studies reduce it to 30 as it is not an official OECD figure acts). In 2018, Spain scored 483 points in science (13 points less than in 2013) and 481 points in mathematics, five less than in 2015. That is, it was half a year below average. This year, examiners found “anomalies” in the Spanish reading comprehension answers and eliminated that portion of the exam.
More information
What happens if you fail?
The results are anonymous and represent only a sample. They therefore neither count towards the student’s performance record nor do they represent a renewed confirmation of passing this level of education. We do not want to know the results of each individual student, but rather extrapolate them to a national level . PISA shows similarities and differences between different education systems, but does not provide a judgment. Many countries set national standards and targets based on international PISA results. and some experts criticize governments for only making cosmetic changes to look better in the photo or for incorrectly extrapolating some of the data to justify their policy direction. In any case, structural changes in a system take time to be reflected in PISA in both positive and negative ways.
In the report, not only the country that has a high average score does well, but also the country that ensures that the quality of education penetrates all social classes, including the lowest. This happens in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore or Finland.
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