This study uses evidence from a longitudinal survey (PISA Plus, Germany) to examine the potential of bias in international large-scale assessments (ILSAs). In PISA Plus, participation was mandatory at the first measurement point, but voluntary at the second measurement point. The study provides evidence for relevant selection bias regarding…

This study assesses whether student exclusions from PISA 2018 in Sweden followed the criteria set by the OECD. We do this using both qualitative and quantitative methods. Our conclusion is that the exclusions made in PISA 2018 in Sweden did not follow OECD criteria and were much too high. Furthermore, interviews with school coordinators indicate…

How could the technicality arising from eleven percent of students being excluded from a PISA test in Sweden trigger a polarized debate followed by investigations by both the OECD and national authorities? This question is explored in the study by drawing on discursive institutionalism, especially the concept of normative background ideas,…

Our study is among the first to provide a comprehensive review of cross-national patterns of gender differences in various STEM-related constructs--achievement, beliefs, attitudes, aspirations, and participation, concerning country-level gender equality. We complement our review with empirical analyses utilizing rigorous methodologies and richer…

This study aims to examine the moderating effect of participation in informal science activities on the associations among students' awareness of environmental issues and their attitudes toward science and epistemological beliefs. The data set included 9841 15-year-old students from four Chinese provinces (Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, and…

The purpose of large-scale international assessments is to compare educational achievement across countries. For such cross-national comparisons to be meaningful, the participating students must be representative of the target population. In this paper, we consider whether this is the case for Canada, a country widely recognised as high performing…

Recent decades have witnessed a global expansion of private supplementary tutoring, known as shadow education--additional support in academic subjects that takes place outside of regular school hours. Using the data of 55 countries from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2022, this study examines the association between…

Engagement and performance in mathematics at the upper secondary level have been the concern of successive governments in England. This report was commissioned as part of the country's policy reflections for transforming how maths is viewed and experienced in England. The report explores outcomes such as the share of students studying maths and…

Although shadowed by the institutionalization of contemporary schooling, out-of-school time and space encompass a variety of learning possibilities and are socially organized to enable and maintain educational privileges for some students but not for others. Out-of-school time (OST) curricular instructions have been expanding globally and more…

In recent years, exclusion rates in PISA have risen in many countries, including a sharper-than-average rise in Norway. This article focuses on Norway's experience with exclusion rates in PISA, including an analysis tracking this increase between 2000 and 2018. Through interviews with key stakeholders, this article explores several ideas that…

The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) by the OECD measures student study time during formal school periods and during periods of out-of-school-time (OST). The purpose of these items is to account for differences in country to country achievement levels. However, analyses of the impact of additional study time on student…

The question of how students' sense of membership and connectedness to their school can be supported through school practices concerns educational contexts internationally. According to the Programme of International Student Achievement test, students' experiences of school belonging have decreased and polarized in many of the participating…

Mathematics is not just memorized facts, but rather it is understanding how to approach and solve problems, and problem-solving requires linguistic proficiency. Too often, English learners' (ELs) relatively low math performance is dismissed due to their supposed "limited" English proficiency. Taking this perspective, a constructivist…

This article analyses the contribution of post-compulsory education and training systems to the development of literacy and numeracy skills across OECD countries. While there is extensive cross-country comparative research on the effects of primary and lower secondary education systems on aggregate skills levels, there has been little comparative…

While shadow education, organized learning activities outside formal school, has grown greatly around the world, the relationship between formal schooling and shadow education has not been well investigated. This study is therefore intended to empirically test whether formal education's structure (i.e. tracking) affects students' shadow education…