The OECD has initiated PISA for Development (PISA-D) in response to the rising need of developing countries to collect data about their education systems and the capacity of their student bodies.

Presents a comprehensive treatment of issues related to the inception, design, implementation and reporting of large-scale education assessments. In recent years many countries have decided to become involved in international educational assessments to allow them to ascertain the strengths and weaknesses of their student populations. Assessments such as the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), the IEA's Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and Progress in International Reading Literacy (PIRLS) have provided opportunities for comparison between students of different countries on a common international scale. This book is designed to give researchers, policy makers and practitioners a well-grounded knowledge in the design, implementation, analysis and reporting of international assessments. Readers will be able to gain a more detailed insight into the scientific principles employed in such studies allowing them to make better use of the results. The book will also give readers an understanding of the resources needed to undertake and improve the design of educational assessments in their own countries and regions. Implementation of Large-Scale Education Assessments: Brings together the editors’ extensive experience in creating, designing, implementing, analysing and reporting results on a wide range of assessments. Emphasizes methods for implementing international studies of student achievement and obtaining highquality data from cognitive tests and contextual questionnaires. Discusses the methods of sampling, weighting, and variance estimation that are commonly encountered in international large-scale assessments. Provides direction and stimulus for improving global educational assessment and student learning Is written by experts in the field, with an international perspective. Survey researchers, market researchers and practitioners engaged in comparative projects will all benefit from the unparalleled breadth of knowledge and experience in large-scale educational assessments gathered in this one volume.

Winner of the 2017 AERA Division D Significant Contribution to Educational Measurement and Research Methodology Award! Technological and statistical advances, along with a strong interest in gathering more information about the state of our educational systems, have made it possible to assess more students, in more countries, more often, and in more subject domains. The Handbook of International Large-Scale Assessment: Background, Technical Issues, and Methods of Data Analysis brings together recognized scholars in the field of ILSA, behavioral statistics, and policy to develop a detailed guide that goes beyond database user manuals. After highlighting the importance of ILSA data to policy and research, the book reviews methodological aspects and features of the studies based on operational considerations, analytics, and reporting. The book then describes methods of interest to advanced graduate students, researchers, and policy analysts who have a good grounding in quantitative methods, but who are not necessarily quantitative methodologists. In addition, it provides a detailed exposition of the technical details behind these assessments, including the test design, the sampling framework, and estimation methods, with a focus on how these issues impact analysis choices.

This volume brings together educational effectiveness research and international large-scale assessments, demonstrating how the two fields can be applied to inspire and improve each other, and providing readers direct links to instruments that cover a broad range of topics and have been shown to work in more than 70 countries. The book’s initial chapters introduce and summarize recent discussions and developments in the conceptualization, implementation, and evaluation of international large-scale context assessments and provide an outlook on possible future developments. Subsequently, three thematic sections – “Student Background”, “Outcomes of Education Beyond Achievement”, and “Learning in Schools” – each present a series of chapters that provide the conceptual background for a wide range of important topics in education research, policy, and practice. Each chapter defines a conceptual framework that relates recent findings in the educational effectiveness research literature to current issues in education policy and practice. These frameworks were used to develop interesting and relevant indicators that may be used for meaningful reporting from international assessments, other cross-cultural research, or national studies. Using the example of one particular survey (the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA 2015)), this volume links all theoretical considerations to fully developed questionnaire material that was field trailed and evaluated in questionnaires for students and their parents as well as teachers and principals in their schools. The primary purposes of this book are to inform readers about how education effectiveness research and international large-scale assessments are already interacting to inform research and policymaking; to identify areas where a closer collaboration of both fields or input from other areas could further improve this work; to provide sound theoretical frameworks for future work in both fields; and finally to relate these theoretical debates to currently available and evaluated material for future context assessments.

This report addresses the more contentious aspects of large-scale learning assessments (LSLAs). Drawing on UNESCO's extensive experience in the area from involvement in the direct implementation of assessments and as a knowledge broker and convener of networks this publication presents the Organization's critical take on such initiatives. It aims to balance the debate on LSLAs by reviewing their benefits while raising awareness on their potential risks and pitfalls. The focus of discussions in this publication is on LSLAs conducted in formal and school-based education. It includes an Annex outlining key international studies. [Executive summary, ed]

This is one of six volumes that present the results of the PISA 2018 survey, the seventh round of the triennial assessment. Volume I, What Students Know and Can Do, provides a detailed examination of student performance in reading, mathematics and science, and describes how performance has changed since previous PISA assessments.

This handbook is the first of its kind to provide a general and comprehensive overview of virtually every aspect of International Large Scale Assessment (ILSA). It includes historical, economic, and policy perspectives, theoretical foundations, methodology, and reviews of findings from analyses of ILSA data. After decades, during which ILSAs have generated knowledge within central areas of education research and gained increased and substantial impact on educational policy, practice and research, such a broad overview for a wide-ranging audience is much needed. With contributions from authors and editors from all continents, this handbook appeals to an international audience and keeps a neutral perspective, not favoring one ILSA over another. The handbook is suitable to be read by politicians, researchers and stakeholders who are seeking an overview of ILSAs, their history and development, and both potential benefits and limitations with regard to policy implications. The reviews of findings from studies analyzing ILSA data will be of interest to stakeholders, teachers, researchers, and policymakers. Considering that the reviews extend to all fields pertaining to educational research, the book will be valuable to all researchers interested in education. Students may use the book to learn about ILSAs in the context of policy, theoretical underpinnings, or research. Moreover, the methodology section is written in a manner that is understandable and accessible for students, stakeholders, or researchers not familiar with these data. This methodology part, however, is also a valuable resource for researchers who are familiar with ILSA data, as it provides overviews of the design and sampling procedures of several ILSAs, and includes advice on methods of analysis.Even the owners of the ILSAs may find the book valuable, as it contains overviews and insights into a number of ILSAs, provides information how the data is used by the research community, and includes recommendations for future instruments.