Q: What is PISA?
A: PISA is the Programme for International Student Assessment. It is a study run by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and involves 15-year-old pupils across the world.
Q: What does PISA assess?
A: PISA assesses pupils’ skills in reading and maths and science. The questions are designed around real-life situations and how well pupils can apply the knowledge and skills that they have learned at school. Some of the real-life situations that have been used in the past include using currency exchange rates, working out the time difference between countries, understanding mobile phone tariffs and interpreting information about genetically modified plants.
Q: What is PISA used for?
A: The PISA assessment is designed to be used in any country. This means comparisons can be made across countries in order to compare the performance of education systems. It also allows comparisons to be made within countries over time. When the results from PISA 2022 are available, Scotland will be able to compare its performance with other participating countries as well as comparing it with the results from 2018 and earlier rounds of the study.
Q: Who takes part in PISA?
A: The PISA assessments are designed for 15-year-old pupils. This age group was chosen because, across the world, pupils of this age are approaching the time when they can decide to leave education and get a job.
Q: How are schools and pupils chosen to participate in PISA 2022?
A: From a list of all the schools and colleges in Scotland, international researchers use a computer program to choose a representative group of schools to take part in the study. And then, within those schools, a random selection is made from pupils who are in the right age group. This means any 15-year-old could be chosen to take part.
Q: What do participating schools/colleges need to do?
A: NFER will support schools throughout their participation to ensure that PISA is a rewarding experience for teachers and pupils. We will arrange a convenient date for the PISA study. Schools will need to book computer rooms for the pupils, carry out a test on their computers to check that the study will run in their school, and complete a school questionnaire. The team at NFER and the NFER PISA administrator will work closely with the school to ensure that the study runs smoothly.
Q: Why is it important for schools to take part?
A: In order for the results to be meaningful, it is important that the schools that take part are representative of the country as a whole. That is why we are very keen that invited schools agree to take part. We will work with participating schools to make sure delivery runs as smoothly as possible.
Q: Is the data collected for PISA confidential?
A: The information collected will be shared with the Scottish Government for international comparison and research purposes. It will also be provided in de-identified form to the international study organisers.
The final data, that will be available on the OECD website, will be anonymised in order that no school or pupil can be identified. The education departments in each country may permit other organisations to link PISA data to existing national datasets for the purposes of research only. All data processing will be GDPR compliant. Please read the PISA 2022 privacy notice for further details.
Q: Why is it important for pupils to take part?
A: PISA provides the opportunity for pupils to represent Scotland in an important, global study which is used by governments around the world to plan how to improve their education systems.
Pupils are selected randomly. This means all 15-year-olds in a selected school/college have an equal chance of being picked. This random selection means the pupils chosen will, therefore, give a fair representation of all Scottish pupils and this is important for an international study such as PISA. If an invited pupil does not take part, he or she cannot be replaced by another pupil. There are strict rules about the number of pupils who take part in the study and if these are not met, the data collected will not be considered good enough to appear in the international report. Therefore, we strongly encourage all invited pupils to attend the PISA assessment session and give the assessment their best effort.
Q: Do pupils need to revise?
A: There is no need for any special preparation, revision or studying. PISA provides a chance for pupils to practise assessment skills in a study for which no preparation is required.
Q: Are there practice papers with questions that pupils can try out?
A: There are no practice papers but there are sample questions available from earlier rounds of PISA. These give a good idea about the type of questions that appear in the assessments. Some questions are in the format used in the computer-based assessment that will be used for PISA 2022.
Q: What happens in schools on the day of the PISA assessment?
A: On the day of the study, Study Administrators (like an invigilator) will lead the sessions in schools. When pupils arrive at the room where the study takes place, they will be asked to turn off mobile phones, have a pencil or pen ready, and sit at a computer. The Study Administrator will then read some instructions and answer any questions. Pupils log into the PISA study, read the on-screen introduction and then start answering the maths, reading and science questions. Afterwards, pupils complete a questionnaire about their learning and what they think about school.
Q: What should pupils bring on the day?
A: On the day, NFER recommends that pupils bring:
- a pen or pencil, in case they want to make notes
- a calculator
- a book or magazine, in case they finish early.
Q: Who marks the tests?
A: For multiple choice questions, answers are automatically marked by the computer-based assessment system. Questions for which pupils have to type in an answer will be marked by staff at NFER. All markers will be trained according to strict international rules to make sure each country marks their pupils' responses in the same way.
Q: What languages will the assessments and questionnaires be available in?
A: Assessments and questionnaires for pupils in Scotland will be in English.
Q: How can the same assessment be taken in different languages?
A: There are strict procedures for the translation of texts and materials used in PISA. Any changes that are made by countries to the assessment materials have to be verified by the international researchers to ensure that the same topic is studied in the same way, using questions worded in the same way.
Q: What if a pupil does not want to answer a particular question?
A: Pupils are encouraged to do their best when answering the assessment questions so that they can show their true ability. For the questions in the questionnaire, pupils are encouraged to be honest (answers are provided in confidence). However, pupils do not have to answer any questions that they do not want to. (See this example of a PISA questionnaire to see the sorts of questions that might be asked.)
Q: How long will it take?
A: The study involves two hours of assessment (with a short break in the middle) and up to 45 minutes to complete a questionnaire about themselves and their school.
Pupils will answer multiple choice and open-ended questions on a computer assessing knowledge and skills in maths, reading and science.
Q: Do pupils need to revise?
A: Pupils do not need to prepare or revise for PISA, it is intended to assess how well our education system prepares pupils for adult life and is not a test of the curriculum.
Q: Are there practice papers with questions that pupils can try out?
A: There are no practice papers but there are sample questions available from PISA 2015 or earlier. These give a good idea about the sorts of questions that appear in the assessments. Some questions are in the format used in the computer-based assessment that will be used for PISA 2022.
Q: What should pupils bring on the day?
A: On the day, NFER recommends that pupils bring:
- a pen or pencil, in case they want to make notes
- a calculator
- a book or magazine, in case they finish early.
Q: What if a pupil does not want to answer a particular question?
A: Pupils are encouraged to do their best when answering the assessment questions so that they can show their true ability. For the questions in the questionnaire, pupils are encouraged to be honest (answers are provided in confidence). However, pupils do not have to answer any questions that they do not want to, and this is made clear to them during the administration. (See this example of a PISA questionnaire to see the sorts of questions that might be asked.)
Q: Is the data confidential?
A: The information collected will be shared with the Scottish Government for international comparison and research purposes. It will also be provided in de-identified form to the international study organisers.
The final data, that will be available on the OECD website, will be anonymised in order that no school or pupil can be identified. The education departments in each country may permit other organisations to link PISA data to existing national datasets for the purposes of research only. All data processing will be GDPR compliant. Please read the PISA 2022 privacy notice for further details.