Modern international studies of educational achievement have grown in terms of participating educational systems. Accompanying this development is an increase in heterogeneity, as more and different kinds of educational systems take part. This growth has been particularly pronounced among low-performing, less economically developed systems.…

Non-cognitive factors are considered critical aspects in shaping students' academic achievement. This study aims to analyze and explore the mechanisms of the influence of noncognitive factors on 15-year-old students' abilities in China and the United States. Based on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018 education dataset,…

This study focuses on the teachers' predictions of the students' performances -- in particular the middle-low achievers -- while solving tasks testing inquiry competencies. The tasks come from PISA science. More specifically we study science teachers' predictions for several aspects: levels of difficulty of the tasks, the potential sources of…

The understanding of what makes a question difficult is a crucial concern in assessment. To study the difficulty of test questions, we focus on the case of PISA, which assesses to what degree 15-year-old students have acquired knowledge and skills essential for full participation in society. Our research question is to identify PISA science item…

Background: This paper discusses a framework for analyzing the dependence on mathematical theory in test items, that is, a framework for discussing to what extent knowledge of mathematical theory is helpful for the student in solving the item. The framework can be applied to any test in which some knowledge of mathematical theory may be useful,…

We examined multimodality (the representation of information in multiple semiotic modes) in the context of international test comparisons. Using Program of International Student Assessment (PISA)-2009 data, we examined the correlation of the difficulty of science items and the complexity of their illustrations. We observed statistically…

The purpose of this study is to develop scientific literacy evaluation instrument that tested its validity, reliability, and characteristics to measure the skill of student's scientific literacy used four scientific literacy, categories as follow:science as a body of knowledge (category A), science as a way of thinking (category B), science as a…

In 2010, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation's Education Program has established the Deeper Learning Initiative, which focuses on students' development of deeper learning skills (i.e., the mastery of core academic content, critical-thinking, problem-solving, collaboration, communication, and "learn-how-to-learn" skills). Two test…

In July 2001, the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) agreed to the development of assessment instruments and key performance measures for reporting on student skills, knowledge and understandings in primary science. It directed the newly established Performance Measurement and Reporting Taskforce…