Programme For International Student Assessment Results Research Articles

Politics of PISA in educational agenda-setting: an analysis of the media coverage of PISA 2000-2018 in South Korea

ABSTRACT This article analyses the media coverage of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) by progressive and conservative media outlets in South Korea from 2000 to 2018. Through systemic content analysis, the study reveals that the tones and content of PISA-related articles were largely influenced by the political alignment between the media outlet and the government in power, rather than the actual PISA results. This finding highlights the opportunistic and circumstantial nature of Korean media coverage of PISA, guided by their contrasting educational agendas towards excellence and equity. This research reveals PISA’s function as a projection screen for reflecting local political intentions and as ammunition data to protect specific agendas from criticism. By uncovering the political expediency inherent in media reports on PISA, this study illuminates the role of PISA as a politicised science that shapes educational agendas and strengthens the OECD governance.

Portrait of Education in Indonesia: Learning from PISA Results 2015 to Present

This study aimed to analyze Indonesia’s low Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) scores among PISA participating countries in the world, using the qualitative Spradley model method. Data collection involved studying PISA results documents, curriculum documents, newspapers, and television news. Observations and interviews (both formal and informal) with teachers and prospective teachers who were studying at private tertiary institutions were also used considering that the main researcher has been a lecturer since 1986 until now. Data analysis techniques included domain analysis, content analysis, narrative analysis, and critical discourse analysis. Data analysis related to the implementation of the educational curriculum from the Dutch colonial era to the present. It was found that not all teachers used higher order thinking skills (HOTS) and teachers complained that the curriculum was often changed by the Ministry of Education. Even distribution of the quality of education is also not optimal and experiences difficulties. This is because Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world, with the population spread over 17,000 islands separated by sea. This study recommends that the Indonesian Government make solid short-, medium- and long-term education master plans so that teachers are not bothered with curriculum changes on a regular basis. If participation in PISA by Indonesia is continued, this study recommends that the practice of PISA questions be increased and that PISA participants be selected using purposive sampling considering that the quality of education is not evenly distributed.

Analyzing TALIS Indicators and PISA Results with Data Envelopment: Comparison of EMS, DEAP and R Software

The Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) and the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) are large-scale measurements about teaching and learning. There is a link between TALIS indicators and PISA results. We investigated which countries are effective according to TALIS indicators as inputs and PISA 2015 mathematics, scientific, and reading literacy scores as outputs in this research. Common 24 countries' data from TALIS 2013 and PISA 2015 were analyzed. Data envelopment analysis was used in this quantitative research. Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, and Portugal were found to be effective countries in EMS 1.3, DEAP-XP 2.1, and R-4.0.3 software according to the input-oriented CCR model. Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, and Portugal were found to be effective countries in EMS 1.3, DEAP-XP 2.1, and R-4.0.3 software according to the input-oriented BCC model. The results obtained from the BCC and CCR model differ partially. Italy and Norway should be taken as reference the mostly by ineffective countries for getting better PISA score according to both models analyzing with EMS 1.3, DEAP-XP 2.1, and R-4.0.3.

How Central is the PISA Outcomes on Human Development?

Unlike the traditional statistical approaches, which imply the existence of a latent common causes that lead to the emergence and covariance of indicators, network modeling suggests that latent traits emerge due to interactions between indicators. Clearly, such kind of handling of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) results and other development indicators better reflect the mutual interactions of the indicators. By this aim, the network pattern of development indicators was revealed and graphically represented, most and least important indicators were detected. In addition, the indicators that have closer association with the PISA results were also detected. United Nations Development Program (UNDP) data were used for the analyzes. The 2015 year of data for sixty-six countries were used and consists of thirteen development indicators. The data were analyzed in R statistical program using “qgraph” package. The results showed that the PISA results are not at the central position compared to other development indicators while it was closely associated with gender inequality, secondary school completion rate and unequal life expectations. Those results were discussed based on the existing literature and some recommendations were given to policymakers and for future research.

Drawing lessons from PISA: Qatar’s use of PISA results

AbstractWorldwide, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) has emerged as a valid and reliable benchmark for assessing students’ performance and for gaining significant influence over educational policy and decision-making. Since 2001, Qatar has engaged in massive educational reform, with high expectations for improving students’ achievement. Although significant growth has occurred in Qatar’s education system, students’ performance in PISA is still lagging. The purpose of this article is to examine PISA against the backdrop of Qatar’s education system. It addresses PISA’s objectives and limitations and identifies two common factors in high-achieving countries, teachers, and assessment. These factors are analyzed to determine how Qatar is developing in these areas, compared with other nations, raising issues that should be considered when using PISA to create policy. Finally, several recommendations are offered for policy makers.

Conditioning: how background variables can influence PISA scores

ABSTRACT The OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) has become one of the key studies for evidence-based education policymaking across the globe. PISA has however received a lot of methodological criticism, including how the test scores are created. The aim of this paper is to investigate the so-called ‘conditioning model’, where background variables are used to derive student achievement scores, and the impact it has upon the PISA results. This includes varying the background variables used within the conditioning model and analysing its impact upon countries relatively positions in the PISA rankings. Our key finding is that the exact specification of the conditioning model matters; cross-country comparisons of PISA scores can change depending upon the statistical methodology used.

Comparison of Students’ Math Achievement in Two Nordic Countries: Multi-level Analysis of PISA Results

The present study was aimed to investigate whether Finnish and Danish students’ math achievement differed and which student-level factors, if any, explained the achievement gaps and whether teacher participation in decision making and teacher morale, among the school-level factors, explained the achievement gaps in Finland and Denmark. To this end, this study used both student- and school-level datasets of two countries from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2012 study and employed hierarchical linear models (HLM) – a fully unconditional, a partially unconditional, and a fully conditional model to address the hierarchical structure of research units and importance of predictors of math achievement at each level. Results indicated that Finnish students outperformed Danish peers in math achievement and that between-school homogeneity and gender equity were more salient in Finland than in Denmark. However, the findings of HLM showed that neither teacher participation in decision making nor teacher morale was associated with student math achievement in Finland and Denmark. The findings indicated that neither teacher participation in decision making nor teacher morale translated directly into improved student achievement among Finnish and Danish 15-year-old students, when adjusting for various student and school-level factors. Implications and future studies related to database linking and potential mechanisms, such as school principals’ leadership traits and practices, in the relationships between teacher participation in decision making, teacher morale, and student achievement were briefly discussed.

The Importance of Metacognitive Strategies in Reading Literacy-Results of the PISA Testing in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a large-scale assessment of 15-year-old students’ achievements in three broad areas: Reading, science, and mathematics. PISA results are widely used in discussions on various educational aspects, such as educational policy, quality of education, and teaching methods. Although PISA started in 2000, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH) participated for the first time in 2018. The core subject for the 2018 circle of testing was reading. Thus, the goal of the present article was to examine the effects of metacognitive strategies on the reading achievement of students in BIH. The sample for this analysis was composed of 5,482 students (2,701 female and 2,781 male students). The results showed that metacognitive strategies had a significant effect on reading achievement. We conclude the article with some remarks on how teachers can employ metacognitive strategies in their everyday practice and thus increase their students’ reading achievement.

PROGRAM FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDENT ASSESSMENT (PISA) ANALYSIS OF ASIAN COUNTRIES USING K-MEAN CLUSTERING ALGORITHMS

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report shows that there are still some Asian countries at the lowest level in terms of achieving the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) such as the Philippines, Lebanon, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Saudi Arabia. Based on these problems, it is necessary to group countries in Asia based on PISA indicators so that the characteristics of each country can be known through the k-mean clustering algorithm method. The data in this study are secondary data from the 2018 PISA results which include variables in reading, mathematics, and science. The sample in this study were Asian countries that participated in PISA in 2018 totaling 17 countries. Based on the results of clustering, there are 3 clusters formed, namely, cluster 1 is China and Singapore, which are countries with PISA capabilities above average. Cluster 2 is a cluster consisting of Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Lebanon, and the Philippines with below-average PISA acquisition. Whereas in cluster 3 it is a cluster consisting of countries with medium capabilities in PISA acquisition such as Macau, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, and China-Taipei.

Analysing thai curriculum indicators on the basis of pisa competencies in science and mathematics

A great challenge of Thai students becoming quality global citizens considerably depends on an ability of education to provide sufficient knowledge, skills, and attributes, especially, in science and mathematics, to acquire competencies necessary for their lives in 21st century. Unfortunately, Thai students’ competencies in science and mathematics assessed by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) still fall behind other students in several countries. This study analysed Thai Basic Education Core Curriculum indicators based on their relevancy to PISA key competencies in science and mathematics, and the key competencies that the core curriculum focuses on were found. Unfortunately, neither those focused competencies in science nor mathematics resulted in any predominant PISA results. This obviously illustrates that only a well-constructed curriculum cannot ensure quality of student learning, but the core curriculum is also required to be well-understood by teachers, who are responsible for delivering a quality learning to their students. It is anticipated that this study could provide a better understanding for Thai teachers that there is still plenty of rooms for improvement in student learning so that Thai students are well-prepared to confront challenges of the future awaits.

Education in Ukraine: Quality Assessment and Development Prospects. Based on PISA‑2018

In 2018, Ukraine joined the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). The results of PISA‑2018 showed that Ukraine performed below the OECD average in all areas of literacy: reading, mathematics, and science. This outcome did not meet the public expectations. The expert society has not yet fully realized the critical potential of the obtained PISA results or started a broad discussion to evaluate them and outline the avenues for education reforms.The article analyzes the PISA‑2018 performance of Ukrainian students in reading, mathematics and science literacy, as well as gender inequality, social contexts of learning, student resilience and achievement.Comparison of Ukraine’s educational practices with those of EU countries, reference countries and Russia is used to identify the common features of national education system development at the present-day stage and determine the specific aspects of institutional evolution in Ukrainian education. Public investment in education is analyzed and possible ways of improving its effectiveness are demonstrated. National education policy could be enhanced by updating the learning standards and competencies, raising teacher pay and extending professional development opportunities for teachers, increasing teacher motivation, developing the infrastructure, improving the inter-budgetary relations, and ensuring better performance assessment results.

THE COMPARISON OF PIRLS, TIMSS, AND PISA EDUCATIONAL RESULTS IN MEMBER STATES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

The PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study), TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study), and PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) have become gold standards for the international comparison of children’s performances, when aged 10 and 15 years.
 This paper focuses on secondary analysis of basic statistical indicators on reading literacy (PIRLS), as well as the mathematics and scientific literacy (TIMSS) of pupils at 10 years of age, followed by their reading, mathematics and scientific literacy at 15 years of age (PISA). It compares the pupils’ main educational results in PIRLS and TIMSS with their PSA results. PIRLS, TIMSS, and PISA help to identify key problems within pupils’ educational levels in these selected literacies and create effective educational policy measures.
 One aspect of the comparison within the research paper is the aggregate indicator; this is the arithmetic mean of PIRLS and TIMSS results, using pupils’ PIRLS results from 2001, 2006, 2011 and 2016, and TIMSS results from 2007, 2011 and 2015. The other aspect of the comparison is the aggregate indicator; which is the arithmetic mean of pupils’ PISA results for 2006, 2009, 2012 and 2015. A significant relationship was found to exist between the arithmetic mean of pupils’ PIRLS, TIMSS, and PISA results.
 Political and professional policy decisions within schooling affect the early years of pupils’ school attendance. This has a significant impact on their future education at all levels of schooling. The findings of this paper support a hypothesis regarding the effects of pupils’ educational performance and the need for measures to improve education in schools that should be adopted on an ongoing basis.

Integration of Self-diagnosis in Pascal Law Learning Using STEM Approach

Indonesia is ranked 56th out of 65 participating countries in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) based on data 2015. According to PISA results, the average science score of Indonesian students is 403, where this number is categorized as low. This is because students are still in the process of understanding and have not yet fully recognized the location of their mistakes. Students can diagnose the location of their mistakes through self-diagnosis activities. Self-diagnosis activities require the active role of students during the learning process. One approach that can increase the active role of students is STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics). However, research at this time is still rarely found self-diagnosis activities that are applied to the STEM approach. Therefore, this research has the aim to find out the increase in mastery of physical concepts and self-diagnosis of students on the STEM learning approach to the theory of poscal law class XI High School.This study uses a One-Group pretest-posttest design with a sample of 30 ini 11th grade highschool from one schools in Bandung. . Based on the findings, there is an increase in mastery of concepts [<g> = 0.51] from pre-test to post-test. In self-diagnosis activities identified that there are differences in scores [z = 1.75; p = 0.9599] student assessment results of researchers and self-scoring results. Deeper self-diagnosis triggers a series of implicit steps that encourage them to rearrange their cognition by correcting the mistakes they make when solving problems. So that learning activities using the STEM approach that involves self-diagnosis activities can improve students' mastery of concepts.

Refleksi Hasil PISA (The Programme For International Student Assesment): Upaya Perbaikan Bertumpu Pada Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini)

Abstract The results of the program for international student assessment (PISA) in 2018 in the category of reading ability, Indonesia ranked 74th out of 79 countries, while for the assessment of mathematical ability and scientific ability, Indonesia ranked 73rd and 71st out of 79 participating countries PISA Achievement of Indonesia's ranking in the PISA assessment has always been constant since the beginning of Indonesia's participation in the assessment from 2000 to 2018. With consistent results that are ranked below bring the consequence of thinking that the quality of Indonesian education is not in accordance with global community standards and below the countries other in the world. Government efforts to make improvements to the results of the PISA assessment are changes in the curriculum, but in reality the results of PISA have not experienced significant changes. This paper is an effort to provide a view on the improvement of PISA results through improving the quality of early childhood education, among others for several reasons, first, the opinions of experts based on the results of their research which found that the development of intellectual abilities reached 80% at an early age so the term which is often used is the golden age (golden age); second, all indicators in the program for international student assessment (PISA) begin to be studied and developed by children in early childhood education institutions ranging from literacy reading (language), mathematical literacy and scientific literacy to be the focus in early childhood learning in institutions PAUD is holistically integrative; third, PAUD access which has not yet covered the whole territory of the Republic of Indonesia, as well as the quality and quality of early childhood education institutions that have not been maximized.

Refleksi Hasil PISA (The Programme For International Student Assesment): Upaya Perbaikan Bertumpu Pada Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini)

The results of the program for international student assessment (PISA) in 2018 in the category of reading ability, Indonesia ranked 74th out of 79 countries, while for the assessment of mathematical ability and scientific ability, Indonesia ranked 73rd and 71st out of 79 participating countries PISA Achievement of Indonesia's ranking in the PISA assessment has always been constant since the beginning of Indonesia's participation in the assessment from 2000 to 2018. With consistent results that are ranked below bring the consequence of thinking that the quality of Indonesian education is not in accordance with global community standards and below the countries other in the world. Government efforts to make improvements to the results of the PISA assessment are changes in the curriculum, but in reality the results of PISA have not experienced significant changes. This paper is an effort to provide a view on the improvement of PISA results through improving the quality of early childhood education, among others for several reasons, first, the opinions of experts based on the results of their research which found that the development of intellectual abilities reached 80% at an early age so the term which is often used is the golden age (golden age); second, all indicators in the program for international student assessment (PISA) begin to be studied and developed by children in early childhood education institutions ranging from literacy reading (language), mathematical literacy and scientific literacy to be the focus in early childhood learning in institutions PAUD is holistically integrative; third, PAUD access which has not yet covered the whole territory of the Republic of Indonesia, as well as the quality and quality of early childhood education institutions that have not been maximized.

The Programme for International Student Assessment and Google: An analysis of online news in Italy

AbstractMedia reporting of results from the survey conducted by the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) have led to far‐reaching reforms in many countries. The study on which this article reports analysed how media has responded to the survey results in the national context of Italy. Governments have been suggested to either accept, refuse or renegotiate survey results. Our research elaborated on how information on PISA results were conveyed by searches on the internet search engine Google. A review of 353 contributions published on 127 different online news portals in the period between 2006 and 2018 was analysed, with focus specifically on political communication. An exploratory documentary analysis, using quantitative and qualitative analyses, was conducted for identifying the most recurrent themes. News from four online news portals that recorded the highest number of contributions is analysed in depth, namely: Corriere della Sera, Il Sole 24 Ore, La Repubblica, and Orizzonte Scuola. Our analysis suggests that the message about PISA results transmitted by the media was neither rejected nor renegotiated in news, nor by those who contribute to political debates. Nor can the message be understood as accepted since a well‐informed active process of public debate in the media and among the political decision makers has not taken place.

Marginalisation in education systems: The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the failure discourse around the Italian education system

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation Development (OECD) created the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) as a political actor in global education through a logic of governance by numbers (Grek, 2009). This article discusses how PISA has became a major showcase for the OECD as an assessment tool par excellence while also producing marginalisation discourses. By approaching neoliberal globalisation and its aim at restoring the transnational capitalist class’ power over the “dangerous” classes (Harvey, 2005; Holman, 2006; Van Apeldoorn, 2001; Van der Pijl, 2010), this article analyses how school privatisation has grown in the Italian system over the last few years in the face of the PISA discourse (Bertozzi & Graziano, 2004). Building on document research and reports by Italian teachers, it traces how PISA’s pressure over the Italian school system has produced a twofold marginalizing effect. The first effect is the periodical disclosure of PISA rankings to distinguish successful from failed education systems. In fact, recent PISA results have placed the Italian system as a failed, technologically retarded system compared to those of high-performance countries. The second effect is the burst of neoliberal feelings among teachers, who report both stigma and guilt.

Media neglect of Indigenous student performance in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2001–2015

Abstract This research explores media reporting of Indigenous students’ Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results in two national and 11 metropolitan Australian newspapers from 2001 to 2015. Of almost 300 articles on PISA, only 10 focused on reporting of Indigenous PISA results. While general or non-Indigenous PISA results featured in media reports, especially at the time of the publication of PISA results, there was overwhelming neglect of Indigenous results and the performance gap. A thematic analysis of articles showed mainstream PISA reporting had critical commentary which is not found in the Indigenous PISA articles. The three themes identified include: a lack of teacher quality in remote and rural schools; the debate on Gonski funding recommendations and the PISA achievement gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students. This study concluded the overwhelming neglect is linked to media bias, which continues to drive mainstream media coverage of Indigenous Australians.

Who makes it into PISA? Understanding the impact of PISA sample eligibility using Turkey as a case study (PISA 2003–PISA 2012)

ABSTRACTNew evidence presented in this paper shows that existing accounts of Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in developing countries underestimate both progress and inequality because they do not take into account the large proportion of 15–16-year olds who are ineligible for the PISA sampling frame, primarily due to dropout or delay. In such countries, who makes it into PISA (sample eligibility) heavily influences representivity and therefore the interpretation of PISA results. We use PISA in Turkey 2003–2012 as a case study to show how combining measures of access (from the Turkish Demographic and Health Surveys) and learning outcomes (from PISA) can account for changes in the underlying population. We find the percentage of 15–16-year olds reaching Level 2 in PISA is up to twice as large as that reflected in official PISA reports. These findings have strong implications for inter-country and inter-temporal comparisons using PISA, particularly for developing countries.

International assessments of student achievement and public confidence in education: evidence from a cross-national study

One of the overarching goals of international large-scale assessments (ILSA) is to inform public discourse about the quality of education in different countries. To fulfil this function, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), for example, raises awareness of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) results through different forms of traditional and social media (e.g. press releases and other activities under the slogan PISA Day). Scholars have responded to the rapid growth of ILSA by examining public discourse through newspaper articles, policy documents, and other outlets. However, we know very little about whether and to what extent the general public is actually affected by PISA results. In order to address this gap, this study uses data regarding public trust in education from the 2011 wave of the International Social Survey Program (ISSP). Drawing on survey data from 30 countries and Hierarchical Linear Models (HLM), the study shows that PISA rankings have a significant effect on public perceptions. We find that in high performing countries the general public expresses higher levels of confidence in the education system. We discuss these patterns in the context of growing politicisation of education policy making and the use of ILSA as evidence.