Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Sjøberg, Svein

Titel

Pisa testing: A global educational race?

Ist Teil von

• Europhysics news, 2017-07, Vol.48 (4), p.17-20

Erscheinungsjahr

2017

Quelle

Elektronische Zeitschriftenbibliothek (Open access)

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• PISA, The Programme for International Student Assessment, was initiated by the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) in 2000 and has since then dramatically changed educational debates as well as policies worldwide. Although scientists and educators may appreciate the thinking behind the framework for testing, they also need to understand the wider social, ideological context of PISA. The PISA project has to be understood as a social phenomenon and a political project, in essence a well-funded instrument of power that has steadily increased its influence on the educational discourse and policies in the now 70 participating countries. The educational debate has become global, and the race to improve PISA-rankings has become high priority in many countries. While no feedback is given to students, teachers or schools, for governments the PISA-test is a high-stakes test. Governments are blamed for low scores, and governments are quick to take the honour when results are improving. Perceived bad rankings often create a crisis or panic, and governments are urged to do "something" to improve scores. But PISA cannot, by its design, say anything about cause and effect. Ill-informed school reforms are often introduced to improve PISA scores. National curricula, cultural values and priorities are pushed aside. Many of the reforms that are legitimized by PISA can be characterized as New Public Management and neoliberal policies. Key words in these reforms are standardization of curricula, more testing, belief in competition, privatization and free choice of schools. © 2017 EDP Sciences