International Tests

Programme For International Student Assessment (PISA)
PISA is an international comparative study in which approximately 55 countries participate to assess how well students at age 15 - and therefore approaching the end of compulsory schooling in most countries - are prepared to meet the challenges of today’s societies.

The PISA assessment takes a broad approach to assessing skills and knowledge that reflect the current changes in curricula, moving beyond the school based approach towards the use of knowledge in everyday tasks and challenges. These skills reflect the ability of students to continue learning throughout their lives by applying what they have learned in school to non-school environments, evaluating their choices and making decisions.

PISA combines the assessment of three domain-specific areas such as:

• reading,
• mathematical and
• scientific literacy.

PISA covers these domains not so much in terms of mastery of the school curriculum, but of important knowledge and skills needed in adult life. Emphasis is on the mastery of processes, the understanding of concepts and the ability to function in various situations within each domain. This emphasis is particularly significant in light of the concern among nations to develop human capital, which is defined in PISA as: “the knowledge, skills, competencies and other attributes embodied in individuals that are relevant to personal, social and economic well- being." ... More

Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)

TIMSS is a curriculum based international comparative study in which over 60 countries participate to assess 4th and 8th grade students’ mathematics and science knowledge and skills. With the assessment of these two grades, aspects of growth in Mathematics and Science knowledge and skills from fourth grade to eighth grade can be identified. The following domains are covered in the two subject areas:

Mathematics

• Grade 4: Number, Geometric Shapes and Measures, Data Display
• Grade 8: Number, Algebra, Geometry, Data and Chance

Science

• Grade 4: Life Science, Physical Science, Earth Science
• Grade 8: Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Earth Science

As far as the content dimension is concerned, there is more emphasis in mathematics on Number at fourth grade than in eighth grade. In science at the eighth grade Physics and Chemistry are assessed as separate content domains and receive more emphasis.

Both the mathematics and science assessment frameworks have also a cognitive dimension-Knowing, Applying, and Reasoning... More

Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS)
PIRLS is an international comparative study in which approximately 40 countries participate to assess 4th grade students’ reading ability in their native language. This grade level was chosen for PIRLS as it is an important transition point in children’s development as readers. Typically, at this point, students have learned how to read and are now reading to learn. Thus, shortcomings in understanding written texts at this stage may have a negative impact on performance in most other subject areas.

PIRLS is based on a comprehensive framework that calls for students to be able to demonstrate their understanding of a wide variety of texts for two major purposes:

1. to acquire and use information and
2. for literary experience.

As the Qatar Curriculum standards, PIRLS places a strong emphasis on critical analysis, not only a repetition of learned or read facts. As they read, students are asked to engage in a full range of skills and strategies, including:

Retrieve explicitly stated information

Making straightforward inferences

Interpreting and integrating ideas

Examining and evaluating content, language and textual elements

... More