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Dept for Education and Skills

Answer

Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment he has made of the (a) intrinsic value and (b) relative value of the Programme for International Student Assessment 2000 education survey compared to other recent studies. [143982] Alan Johnson: International comparisons of pupil attainment such as the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) offer insights into how the outcomes of our education system compare with those of other countries. PISA, which in 2000 focused on "reading literacy" of 15-year-olds, allows us to compare pupils at the end of compulsory schooling. Together with PISA, other international comparisons studies, such as the IEA's Progress in International Literacy Study (PIRLS) and Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), with their different age cohorts and subject content, help give us an objective picture of performance across the primary and secondary sectors in relation to our world partners and competitors, complementing the data coming out of our own national assessments. It seems clear that we are not alone in finding these studies valuable, given the large number of countries routinely taking part in them.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

143982; 415 c966W

Session

2003-04

Subjects

Assessments Pupils OECD countries Standards Literacy Programme for International Student Assessment

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk