Pisa for low- and middle-income countries

Bibliographic Data

ID11919936
AuthorsSimone Bloem (Université Paris Cité, corresponding author)
Year2015
Volume45
Issue3
Pages481-486
Publication date2015-05-04
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueCompare A Journal of Comparative and International Education (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0305-7925 • E-ISSN: 1469-3623
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/03057925.2015.1027513
OpenAlexW1730194634
LanguageEN
Citations received9
References cited2

This paper explores the participation of low- and middle-income countries in OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). It provides a detailed description of partner countries’ participation across PISA rounds and the challenges faced by low- and middle-income partner countries in effectively implementing and deriving policy value from PISA. Specific challenges are illustrated with examples from Tunisia and Kyrgyzstan. Many partner countries lag considerably behind OECD countries on various dimensions of social and economic development. Three OECD countries – Chile, Mexico, Turkey – also differ from higher-income OECD countries in regards to educational achievement and other indicators of social and economic \ndevelopment. After grouping countries based on income (GNI per capita), this paper shows that the cognitive performance of students in countries participating in PISA varies considerably not only between different country income groups but also within them. Analysis of PISA performance in relation to national wealth provides strong arguments for grouping countries according to their social and economic \ndevelopment when reflecting on challenges of participation and effective use of PISA. Lack of funding and governments’ fear of bad performance have been stated as potential deterrents to participation. Lack of institutional capacity and less relevant results due to a non-representative sample of 15 year-olds and clustering of students at low proficiency levels are discussed as main challenges for the effective use of \nPISA. The paper concludes with some considerations on how to improve the effective use of PISA results in these countries that may be particularly relevant in the context of the OECD’s recently launched initiative called PISA for Development

Business · Demographic economics · Developing country · Development economics · Economic growth · Economics · Low and middle income countries · Low income · Political science · Global Education and Multiculturalism · Global Educational Policies and Reforms · Higher Education Learning Practices

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