Session 6: Education- International databases and comparisons

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Session 6 Education- International databases and
comparisons
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD)

Joint OECD/ONS/Government of Norway workshop
Measurement of non-market output in education
and health London, 3-5 October 2006 Michael
Davidson Indicators and Analysis
Division Directorate for Education, OECD
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Aim of presentation

• What internationally comparative data and
  indicators are available for measuring
  educational output/outcomes?
• PISA and other data

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Available OECD education output data

• Student numbers
• For all levels of education
• Student instruction hours
• For ages 7-15
• Graduate numbers
• Upper secondary and higher education
• Educational attainment of the population
• Stock of qualifications
• Programme for International Student Assessment-
• International student test scores

PISA
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PISA

• Measures the knowledge and skills of 15-year-olds
  in
• Reading literacy
• Mathematics literacy
• Scientific literacy
• A comprehensive assessment of the yield of
  education systems to age 15
• including and beyond the curriculum
• Measures what students can do, rather than what
  they have learnt
• Produces standardised scores
• Mean performance of 500 and standard deviation of
  100
• Within each subject domain

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PISA

• 3 yearly cycle with major/minor domains

2000 2003 2006 2009 2012
Reading Reading Reading Reading Reading
Maths Maths Maths Maths Maths
Science Science Science Science Science

• School and student background questionnaires
• Public/private schools
• Social background of students
• First language migrant status
• Student engagement and motivation
• 57 countries in PISA 2006
• All OECD, EU countries and others

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Mean mathematics scores overall (OECD)
OECD (2004), Learning for tomorrows world First
results from PISA 2003, Table 2.5c, p.356.
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Variation in student performance in mathematics
OECD (2004), Learning for tomorrows world First
results from PISA 2003, Table 4.1a, p.383.
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Mean scores in mathematics performance (2003)Raw
scores and scores adjusted as if the mean ESCS
would be equal in all OECD countries
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Other relevant data series

• PISA
• gt up to end of lower secondary education
• Plus earlier assessment in the future?
• TIMSS (Trends in maths and science)
• Assessments in 4th and 8th grades in maths and
  science
• 4-yearly cycle, most recent in 2003
• More curriculum focussed than PISA
• Less comprehensive country coverage of OECD/EU
  countries than PISA
• PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy
  Study)
• 4th grade reading literacy
• 5 yearly cycle, first in 2001, next in 2006
• Country coverage more like TIMSS than PISA

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Upper secondary and Higher Education

• No similar international student assessments.yet
• Available data on graduate numbers and rates
• But these measure output quantity not quality
• How to treat non-completers?
• Labour market outcomes relevant?
• Comparative employment rates
• Earnings differentials

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Summary

• For schooling up to lower secondary education
  PISA can provide useful output and outcome
  measures, noting
• It is a yield measure
• Equity as well as quality is a desirable outcome
• Other international studies can complement this
• Different phasing country coverage
• But differences in methodology with PISA
• Upper secondary and higher education have to
  reply on more traditional measures
• Student numbers, graduates or possibly labour
  market outcomes

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Thank you for listening