Developing PISA
The Programme International Student Assessment (PISA), is designed in collaboration with OECD
staff, researchers, government officials, and content-area experts, all from the countries involved
in its development and distribution (oecd.org/pisa).
“PISA is developed and implemented under the responsibility of education ministries through the
PISA’s decision-making body, the PISA Governing Board. The Board has representatives from all
member countries plus partner countries . . .” (oecd.org/pisa). One of the goals of the collabora-
tion of so many experts is to ensure elimination of any potential cultural biases before each year’s
test is published (oecd.org/pisa).
Not a Standard Standardized Test
PISA takes approximately three hours, is given in the child’s native language, and covers math, sci-
ence, reading, problem-solving, and financial literacy. The focus of the 2015 PISA was on science.
Unlike other standardized tests with specific sections for each, PISA focuses on a student applying
academic knowledge in a more real-world way. For example, a few paragraphs along with pictures
or graphs, some resembling newspaper articles, accompanied many questions. Rather than ask-
ing a student only to solve math problems or recall information from science classes, the ques-
tions require students to employ their reading, mathematical, and reasoning skills, in addition to
science-based knowledge.
“PISA also collects valuable information on student’s attitudes and motivations, and formally as-
sesses skills such as collaborative problem solving . . . “ (oecd.org/pisa).Testing for reasoning and
financial literacy, are not typically evaluated in standardized tests and set PISA apart.
Do More With Less
OECD-participating countries show that spending less per student and doing more is possible: Ac-
cording to the National Center for Education Statistics, in 2012, the U.S. spent a combined $38,300
per full-time student on elementary and post-secondary education annually. For participating
OECD countries, the combined average for both levels is $23,800 (nces.ed.gov).
While the debate on the merits of standardized testing will continue, PISA is unique. The next
exam is in 2018. When the results are out, maybe instead of looking so much at where we are on
the list, we will look at why we are there, and what the countries that scored so well are doing on a
daily basis in the classroom
Works Cited:
http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_cmd.asp
http://www.oecd.org/pisa/
Center for Global Education: Global Cities Education Network: “What is Pisa and Why Does it Mat-
ter?”http://asiasociety.org/global-cities-education-network/what-pisa-and-why-does-it-matter
PISA Not Perfect
Because PISA is given to a random sampling of 15-year-old students,
“. . . it is not possible to assign a single exact rank in each subject to each country or economy”
(oecd.org/pisa). Because of this fact, there is a minor potential margin of error (oecd.org/pisa). The
slight margin of error is part of the reason why the ranking list in itself is not as important as what
school systems can learn and potentially adopt from countries that score well.
How PISA Helps
“In an OECD 2012 survey of PISA-participating countries and economies, the large majority of
respondents said that the policies of high-performing countries or improving systems had been
influential in their own policy-making processes”(oecd.org/pisa). Giving the test every three years
helps administrators make timely changes in curriculum and pedagogy while allowing them to see
if changes they have implemented since the last time the test was given has improved students’
scores (oecd.org/pisa ).
Although PISA is the only international survey of its kind, according to the Center for Global Educa-
tion, its greatest advantage is felt locally: schools that perform well on math and science are typ-
ically producing students who go into medical and science-related professions, which are higher
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