9th April 2013 9:00
By Blue Tutors
For the first time, schools in the UK and US will be able to take the famous PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) tests to determine where they stand compared to the top performing schools globally. The OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) has already launched the tests in Washington DC, and it is intended that they will start in the UK shortly. It will allow schools to see how they rate alongside school systems like Finland, Shanghai and Hong Kong.
The PISA tests measure the ability of 15 year old students in Maths, Science and Reading, taking three and half hours, and are considered a very effective way of comparing two different school systems. The tests are externally marked to ensure robustness, and although schools won’t have to make the results public, it is hoped that many will, to provide a more complete view of global education.
The tests were launched in 1997 and are taken every three years by schools in 70 countries. The results have shown a rise of school systems in Singapore, South Korea and parts of China, last published in 2009. Another set of results will be published shortly.
A criticism of the tests is that they don’t examine educational differences on a smaller scale, so a country performing well may actually contain some poor schools. However, individual schools will be able to see their own results, and judge where they stand within their own system and compared to others.