Challenges in International Large-Scale Assessments Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia, May 16, 2013

Challenges 1.Using information to improve quality 2.Measuring beyond the academics 3.Reaching out of school population 4.What to measure 5.Difficulty level of the tests

Challenge 1: Using Assessment information to improve education quality

Challenge 1: Using ILSA to improve education quality A success Story: The case of Poland

Monitoring impact of reforms in Poland Source: The World Bank. Knowledge Brief. Nov 2010, Vol 34

Poland: PISA Reading Scores

Challenges for effective use of assessments Political environment Dissemination Local capacity Assessment culture

Challenge 2: Measuring beyond the academics Success requires a combination of academic, personality and social skills

Personality is important to predict success Personality Psychology and Economics Almlund, M., Duckworth, A., Heckman, J., Kautz, T.

Self-Discipline Outdoes IQ in Predicting Academic Performance of Adolescents Duckworth, A. L. & Seligman, M. E. P. (2005). Psychological Science, 16,

Grit Scale GRIT: Perseverance for achieving long-term goals

Grit Scale Men 1st-9th percentile: < th-19th percentile: th-29th percentile: th-39th percentile: th-49th percentile: th-59th percentile: th-69th percentile: th-79th percentile: th-89th percentile: th-99th percentile: Women 1st-9th percentile: < th-19th percentile: th-29th percentile: th-39th percentile: th-49th percentile: th-59th percentile: th-69th percentile: th-79th percentile: th-89th percentile: th-99th percentile:

Background Questionnaires TIMSS 2011 – Attitudes towards math and science: Like, value, confidence Results – Younger students have more positive attitudes – Correlation with achievement Strong and positive within countries Weak among countries

Discussion Should we move towards measuring personality traits? How?

Challenge 3: Reaching out of school population

73% 72% 84% 91% 96% n.a. The PISA 2009 profiles by country/economy.

PISA 2006 Sample Coverage Ferreira, F. & Gignoux, J. (2011). The Measurement of Educational Inequality. Achievement and Opportunity. Policy Research Paper Development Research Group. The World Bank Covered Pop / Total Pop

PISA 2006 Sample Coverage Ferreira, F. & Gignoux, J. (2011). The Measurement of Educational Inequality. Achievement and Opportunity. Policy Research Paper Development Research Group. The World Bank Covered Pop / Total Pop Science Scores

Which country did better? Country Y: Country X: 70% 90% 2ary school enrollment

Did the country stay the same? % 70% 2ary school enrollment 400 Country X

Discussion Should we compare countries with different proportions of out-of-school population?

Challenge 4: What to measure?

The traditional view in assessment Emphasis on opportunities to learn

The “new” view in assessment Society PISA approach: to what extent students can apply their knowledge to real-life situations and be equipped for full participation in society.

Measuring 21 st Century Skills

21 st Century Learning Framework Core subjects and interdisciplinary themes – Language, math, sciences, – Finances, health, civics Skills – Creativity and innovation – Critical thinking and problem solving – Communication and collaboration – Information, media, and ICT literacy

Challenge 5: Difficulty level of the tests Measuring what student should know and be able to do? Measuring what student actually know and can do?

Difficulty Level of the tests

Difficulty Level of the Tests Focus on and Retrieve Explicitly Stated Information Make Straightforward Inferences Interpret and Integrate Ideas and Information Examine and Evaluate Content, Language, and Textual Elements Recognize letters Recognize words Read short sentences PIRLS & PrePIRLS EGRA, Provinha

PrePIRLS Example questions Retrieve explicitly stated information

Provinha Example Question Identify Letters Source: Provinha March Caderno do Professor. X

Administrator reads test questions to the students. Test questions are only included in the Test Administrator booklet

Provinha Example question Read words Source: Provinha March Caderno do Professor. X

Difficulty Level of the Tests Focus on and Retrieve Explicitly Stated Information Make Straightforward Inferences Interpret and Integrate Ideas and Information Examine and Evaluate Content, Language, and Textual Elements Recognize letters Recognize words Read short sentences PIRLS & PrePIRLS EGRA, Provinha

Opposed Forces More low ability students expected to take the tests in more developing countries Push for more difficult “higher order thinking skills” questions

How to address this? new PISA for Development PrePIRLS

Universal scale

Discussion What challenges do you foresee? How can they be addressed?