Written question asked by Nick Gibb (Conservative) on Thursday, 2 December 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 9 December 2004. It was answered by David Miliband (Labour) on Thursday, 9 December 2004 on behalf of the Department for Education and Skills.

Dept for Education and Skills

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what reasons were given by the schools in England which refused to take part in the OECD PISA 2003 survey for their decision not to take part.

Answer: Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what reasons were given by the schools in England which refused to take part in the OECD PISA 2003 survey for their decision not to take part. [203171] Mr. Miliband: The Department's contractor, ONS, gained some insights from contacts with schools while seeking their agreement to take part about why they did not wish to participate in PISA 2003. The most common reason for refusal was the teaching staff time required in co-ordinating the school's participation in the studies. Schools also said that they received too many requests from a number of different sources to take part in surveys. The PISA rules require that testing takes place in the spring or summer terms and, as the sample was of 15-16 year olds, many sampled pupils were in their GCSE year and even the half a day's testing required by PISA was seen as a distraction from their preparation.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 203171; 428 c775W
Session: 2004-05
Subjects: Assessments Data processing OECD countries Take-up Surveys Programme for International Student Assessment
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk