The present paper investigates and examines the conditional dependencies between cognitive responses (RA; Response Accuracy) and process data, in particular, response times (RT) in large-scale educational assessments. Using two prominent large-scale assessments, NAEP and PISA, we examined the RA-RT conditional dependencies within each item in the…

The school performance study of students is, due to its relevance and complexity, one of the issues of major controversy in the educational research, and it has been given special attention in the last decades. This study is intended to show a conceptual approach to the school performance construct, contextualizing the reality in the regular basic…

This study examined the empirical differences between the tendency to omit items and reading ability by applying tree-based item response (IRTree) models to the Japanese data of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) held in 2009. For this purpose, existing IRTree models were expanded to contain predictors and to handle…

The study examines the role that perceptions or impressions of learning environments and assessments play in students' performance on a large-scale standardized test. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was used to test aspects of the Learning Errors and Formative Feedback model to determine how much variation in students' performance was explained…

Reports of international large-scale assessments tend to evaluate and compare education system performance based on absolute scores. And policymakers refer to high-performing and economically prosperous education systems to enhance their own systemic features. But socioeconomic differences between systems compromise the plausibility of those…

This study used a Chinese-language version of the Index of Science Reading Awareness to explore the science reading metacognition and comprehension of Taiwanese students. Structural equation modelling results confirmed the underlying model comprised three clusters of metacognitive knowledge: beliefs and confidence in science reading, knowledge of…

This study investigated parent general value of science operationalized in the 2006 questionnaire of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), as a determinant of adolescents' scientific literacy performance. The transmission of academic values literature is small. To the best of our knowledge, no previous studies to date have…

This article discusses the dynamic interaction between global policy and knowledge flows and two post-communist education systems--Hungary and Romania--with special attention to the appropriation of post-bureaucratic regulation tools and the structural changes enhanced by the knowledge transmitted by the Programme for International Student…

The PISA survey influences educational policies through an international competitive process which is not wholly rationally-oriented. Firstly, PISA league tables act normatively upon the definition of formal educational aims while the survey tests cannot evaluate the educational systems' relative strengths with regards to such aims. We argue that…

The 21st-century work environment places strong emphasis on nonroutine transversal skills. In an educational context, complex problem solving (CPS) is generally considered an important transversal skill that includes knowledge acquisition and its application in new and interactive situations. The dynamic and interactive nature of CPS requires a…

Key system challenges identified by the Abu Dhabi Education Council provided the impetus for an aggressive strategic plan as necessary guidance and support for the development of the P-12 education system to contribute to advancing its positioning in the global knowledge economy. For the Abu Dhabi Education Council, the analysis served as a tool…

Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) has conducted a series of educational assessments in many OECD and non-OECD countries to support their sustainable economic growth since 2000. These assessments are named Program for International Student Achievement (PISA); they focus on the capabilities of 15-year olds in three main…

Differential item functioning (DIF) analysis is a statistical technique used for ensuring the equity and fairness of educational assessments. This study formulates a new DIF analysis method using the information similarity index (ISI). ISI compares item information functions when data fits the Rasch model. Through simulations and an international…

This week, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is publishing the findings of new research undertaken to explore the relationship between educational spending and economic growth. The report, "The High Cost of Low Educational Performance--The Long-Run Economic Impact of Improving PISA Outcomes", employs recent…