About PISA

What is important for citizens to know and be

able to do? That is the question that underlies
the triennial survey of 15-year-old students
around the world known as the Programme for
International Student Assessment (PISA). PISA
Month
andthe
timing
assesses
extent Action
to which students near the
end of compulsory education have acquired key
0
Agree timetable and scope.
knowledge and skills that are essential for full
(6 months before
Background report in
participation in modern societies.
the visit)
preparation by the country.
Since 2000, PISA has been testing students
5
report delivered
worldwide
in the Background
key subjects:
reading,
(1 month before
in draft.
OECD
team andalso
mathematics
andthe
science.
The
assessment
fact-finding
visit)
national
co-ordinator
agree
collects information
on students
backgrounds
programme
for visit(s).in an
and on how their schools
are managed
effort to identify the factors that influence student
6
-8
Fact-finding visit.
performance.
Policy visit (only for reviews).
PISA also regularly introduces new tests to assess
students
skillsafter
in other
areas
relevant
to modern
12 (4 months
The
OECD
team delivers
the
life,
such
creative problem
solving
and review
financial
policy
visitasfor
draft country
policy
or
literacy
(tested
first time tointhe
2012)
and
reviews and
threefor the
commentary
country.
collaborative
problem
solving
(testing
will begin
weeks after the
visit The
country
provides
its in
2015).
for commentaries comments to the OECD
firm deadline)
team within 3 weeks.
Budget for:

Thousands of Euros

Policy Review

140

Country
Commentary

55

A new project called PISA for Development is

underway. It aims to adapt the PISA instruments
to make them even more relevant for a broader
range of contexts, particularly those of developing
countries. These instruments will be developed
and tested in a small number of countries over the
next three years. To find out more go to:
www.oecd.org/pisa/pisafordevelopment

Participants of the OECD Programme

for International Student Assessment
Albania
Algeria
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Belgium
Brazil
Bulgaria
Canada
Chile
China (Peoples Republic of)
Hong Kong
Macao
Shanghai
Colombia
Costa Rica
Croatia
Czech Republic
Denmark
Dominican Republic
Estonia
Finland
France
Georgia
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
India
Himachal Pradesh
Tamil Nadu
Indonesia
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Japan
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Korea
Kosovo
Kyrgyz Republic

Latvia
Lebanon
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macedonia (Former Yugoslav Republic of)
Malaysia
Malta
Mauritius
Mexico
Moldova
Montenegro
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Panama
Peru
Poland
Portugal
Qatar
Romania
Russian Federation
Serbia
Singapore
Slovak Republic
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Chinese Taipei
Thailand
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Turkey
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
United States
Uruguay
Venezuela
Miranda
Vietnam

OECD member countries

For more information please contact:
edu.pisa@oecd.org.

Programme for
International Student
Assessment (PISA)
The OECD assessment of 15-year-olds
in key competencies to help improve quality,
equity and efficiency in education systems

What makes PISA unique?

Key facts about PISA 2012

PISA results

PISA results reveal what is possible in education by

showing what students in the highest-performing
and most rapidly improving education systems
can do. It is unique in the way it looks at:

The content: The PISA 2012 survey focused on

mathematics, with reading, science and problemsolving as minor areas of assessment. For the first
time, PISA 2012 also included an assessment of
the financial literacy of young people, which was
optional for countries.

Policy makers use PISA results to gauge the

knowledge and skills of students in their own
countries in comparison with those in other
countries, set policy targets against measurable
goals achieved by other education systems,
Month
and from
timingpolicies
Action
and
learn
and practices applied
elsewhere. Among many other results, PISA has
0
Agree timetable and scope.
found that:
(6 months before
Background report in
the visit)
preparation
by the

Among low-income
economies,
thecountry.
amount
spent on education is an important factor in
5 promoting performance.
Background report delivered
(1
month
before
the
in draft.
OECD
and
Successful school
systems
in team
high-income
fact-finding
visit) tend national
co-ordinator
agreeof
economies
to prioritise
the quality
programme
for
visit(s).
teachers over the size of classes.

Public policy issues: PISA helps stakeholders

assess how well schools are equipping todays
youth for adult life, whether education systems
are fair, and whether some schools and teaching
methods are more effective than others.
Literacy: Rather than examine mastery of specific
school curricula, PISA looks at students ability
to apply what they learn in school to real-life
situations.
Lifelong learning: PISA not only looks at student
performance but also finds out about students
potential for lifelong learning by asking them about
their motivation, their self-beliefs and their learning
strategies.
Performance over time: Countries and economies participating in successive PISA cycles can
compare the performance of their students over
time and assess the impact of education policy
decisions.
PISA 2012 Results:
What Makes Schools
Successful?
ReSouRceS, PolIcIeS And PRActIceS
VoluMe IV

lts:
Resu
2012
PISA to Learnnt, dRIve
y
me
Read tS engAge
S
en
Stud Lf-BeLIef
Se
And
me III
voLu

The students: Around 510 000 students

completed the assessment in 2012, representing
about 28 million 15-year-olds in the schools of the
65 participating countries and economies.
The assessment: Paper-based tests were used,
lasting two hours for each student. In some
countries an extra 40 minutes were devoted to
the computer-based assessment of mathematics,
reading and problem solving.
Questions were a mixture of multiple choice and
those requiring students to construct their own
responses. Try out some questions here:
www.oecd.org/pisa/test
Students answered a questionnaire that sought
information about themselves, their homes and
their school and learning experiences. School
principals were given a questionnaire that covered
the school system and the learning environment.
In some countries parents answered a questionnaire to provide information on their perceptions of
and involvement in their childs school, their support for learning at home and their childs career
expectations.

ry
mina
Preli rsion
ve

PISA 2012 Ass

essment
and Analytica
l Framework

concerns
6 - 8PISA shows that equity
Fact-finding
visit.do not need
to be sacrificed Policy
to achieve
at high
levels:
visit (only
for reviews).
many school systems combine high levels
performance
with OECD
above team
average
social
12 (4ofmonths
after The
delivers
the
equity.
policy
visit for
draft country policy review or
reviews
and three in commentary
the country.

Improvements
performancetoare
possible,
weeks
after the the
visit starting
The country
its
whatever
pointprovides
for students,
for commentaries
comments
to the OECD
schools and education
systems.
firm deadline)
team
within
3 weeks.
Improvements are
not,
however,
inevitable
and require the concerted efforts of policy
makers, teachers, parents, students and
Budget
for:at large. Thousands of Euros
society
Policy
Review

Grade
repetition140
is an expensive policy
that is not associated with performance
Country
improvements at55the system level. SocioCommentary
economic disadvantage is associated with
grade repetition on top and beyond its effect
on performance.

MAtheMAtIc
S, ReAdIng,
ScIence,
PRobleM Solv
Ing And FInA
ncIAl lIteRAc
y

Joining PISA

Programme for International Student Assessment

Pro gram

Inte
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PISA
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The next assessment countries can join will be in

2018. The deadline for joining is the end of 2014.

uity

CE

Countries can express their interest by sending a

message to edu.pisa@oecd.org.
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Find out more at www.oecd.org/pisa/.