Understanding the PISA Survey: Impacts and Applications in Education
PISA: A Global Assessment of Student Knowledge and Skills
The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a research initiative carried out by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) that evaluates the knowledge and skills acquired by 15-year-old students in three-year intervals.
The main objective of PISA is to measure students’ ability to apply the knowledge and skills they acquire at school to real-life situations. It also aims to gain a better understanding of young people, including their willingness to learn, performance in courses, and preferences for learning environments.
PISA measures various aspects of students’ abilities, including their literacy in mathematics, science, and reading. In addition, it collects data on students’ motivations, self-perceptions, learning styles, school environments, and family backgrounds.
Conducted by the OECD, PISA involves the development of tests and surveys, as well as the analysis and preparation of international reports by a consortium supervised by the PISA Board of Directors. At the national level, each participating country has its own center responsible for translating and adapting PISA, implementing the research, and preparing national reports.
In participating countries, PISA is applied to all 15-year-old students enrolled in formal education, including various types of high schools such as middle schools, science high schools, fine arts high schools, and vocational and technical high schools.
The results of the PISA survey are compiled into a national report and used to identify deficiencies in educational programs and as a resource for education research. These results are also made publicly available through the OECD website, allowing access to reports from previous years and the latest findings from the 2018 assessment.
