International Educational Surveys: The Review of School Assessment Surveys

Abstract

This paper is dedicated to the initiation and implementation of large-scale surveys in education field at different educational and age levels. In order to determine the feasibility of such surveys and their importance for the subsequent analysis of the obtained data, the authors reviewed the concept of evaluation and assessment. The analysis of existing researches allowed to submit a classification of large-scale surveys on the basis of which different school surveys and their implementation in the Russian Federation were reviewed (PISA, PIRLS, TIMMS). The design features of such surveys are not only the data collection of the test results but also the collection of the context information. Moreover such results give an oppurtunity to look at the data on the international level, the successfulness of the country education policy, the population capabilities, the gaps in education process and activities and the competencies distribution among the population. The competencies here mean a person's ability to apply his/her knowledge in a variety of (new, unknown or familiar) contexts and real-life situations. The implementation of competency-based approach in forming the national education policy, the necessity of competencies forming and development are very important components for full inclusion in education sector at the national and international levels.