Statistical data sources for education policy analysis: the inner workings of the famous PISA
Zoé Lerouge These past years, the Project on International Student Assessment (better known as PISA) launched in 2000 has taken more and more importance in the Education Ministers’ agendas throughout the OECD countries. By ranking the countries according to their students’ performances, the international study creates pressure for reforms among numerous policy-makers. To understand more precisely how does PISA works and what it really says about our education systems, we had the pleasure to receive Francesca Borgonovi, policy analyst at the OECD, in our SciencesPo Master of International Affairs Comparative Education Policy class. She revealed to us the inner workings of the famous test. Ms Borgonovi, to set the scene for our readers, could you first tell us more about large-scale educational assessments (LSEAs)? Sure! Large-scale educational assessments, studies containing direct measurements of individuals’ cognitive proficiency, have become an increasingly useful tool to e...