Abstract
Many countries attempt to increase their Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) rankings and scores over time. However, despite providing a more accurate assessment of the achievement-based improvements across countries, few studies have systematically examined growth in PISA scores over multiple assessments. Using data from the 2006, the 2009, and the 2012 PISA, we analyzed which countries experienced significant increases in their country-level average PISA scores between 2006 and 2012. To facilitate improved policy decisions, we also examined what country-level conditions were associated with such increases. Contrary to expectations, we found that few countries significantly increased their PISA scores over time. Countries that did experience meaningful improvements in PISA scores were more likely to have had lower PISA scores in 2006 and experienced country-level foundational advancements more recently, such as advancing to a more democratic form of government and/or a higher income classification.
Highlights
Considered by many to be education’s “World Cup” (Coughlan 2013; Wilby 2013), the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) has become a prominent international benchmarking assessment of national education systems
To address our first research question and assess which countries significantly improved their country-level average PISA scores over time, we first rank ordered countries that participated in the
We categorized countries according to whether or not they significantly increased their scores during this time period
Summary
Considered by many to be education’s “World Cup” (Coughlan 2013; Wilby 2013), the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) has become a prominent international benchmarking assessment of national education systems. The release of PISA scores and the associated international rankings routinely generates much attention in both media and education policy forums (Coughlan 2013; Hess 2013; Wilby 2013). Despite countries’ emphases on improving their rankings and scores over time, the question of growth in PISA scores over multiple assessments has rarely been systemically examined. Examining which countries significantly increase their PISA scores over time is a better indicator of educational improvement than PISA rankings or changes in rankings, as it provides a more accurate assessment of achievement-based advancements across countries. We examined what country-level conditions were associated with such increases in student achievement over time to facilitate improved policy decisions
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