Educational Achievement in English-Speaking Countries: Do Different Surveys Tell the Same Story?

Abstract

International surveys of educational achievement are typically analysed in isolation from each other with no indication as to whether new results confirm or contradict those from earlier surveys. The paper pulls together results from four surveys to compare average levels of achievement, inequality of achievement, and the correlates of achievement (especially family background) among the six English-speaking OECD countries and between them and countries from Continental Europe. Our aim is to see whether a robust pattern emerges across the different sources: the Trends in International Maths and Science Study (TIMSS), the Programme of International Student Assessment (PISA), the Programme of International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) and the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS).