OECD PISA for Schools test now available across the UK

PISA for Schools, the gold standard in measurement of student learning, is an online assessment that supports individual school improvement efforts using benchmarking based on the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). It tests a sample of 15-year-old school students with two components:

• A 2-hour cognitive test in reading, mathematics and science using scenario-based real-life questions – testing the application of knowledge.
• A 30-minute student questionnaire which asks information about a student’s situation at home and school, reactions to the learning environment, and confidence and motivation for doing well at school.

Janison is an Australian publicly listed education technology developer and OECD knowledge partner, which has been achieving world-firsts in online learning and assessment since the earliest days of the internet in the late 1990s. Its online assessment platform, Janison Insights, delivers 6.5 million tests per year across 117 countries and is the technology that powers the PISA for Schools test platform.

“Our international PISA assessment looks at school systems from 30,000 feet above the ground – giving countries the big picture on how their systems compare in terms of the quality or equity of their learning outcomes. PISA for Schools brings it down to earth – giving schools the tools to compare their own learning outcomes, and their learning environments, to those of other schools by using the global PISA framework,” said Mr Andreas Schleicher, OECD Director for the Directorate for Education and Skills.

“Participating schools receive their own tailored school report containing valuable information on students’ skills in reading, mathematics and science. PISA for Schools also gives students a voice by asking them to share their insights into classroom climate, their own motivation for learning, and their social and emotional skills.

What’s more, PISA for Schools now includes analysis on the impact of COVID-19 based on students’ own experience of distance learning, the use of technology and how they managed their return to classrooms.

“The assessment is not designed to generate league tables, and the OECD does not publish the results. However, participating schools can choose to share their insights and experience locally, with their wider school community, and internationally, through the rapidly growing PISA for Schools online community that connects participating schools from many countries in a vibrant, global peer-learning community.”

Sara Ratner, Group Executive – OECD PISA for Schools at Janison said UK schools are eager to benefit from participating in the assessment:

“The schools and MATs we have already spoken to in the UK are excited by the opportunity to benefit from PISA for Schools. Around the world schools and systems who take part are unpacking the data in their confidential, individualised reports and using the evidence to set strategic goals. They are actively working to leverage our global peer learning community and benefit from a holistic health check of their school performance which brings together heart and mind through the power of student voice.”