PISA for Development

1. PISA for Development Initial Technical Meeting Closing Session 27-28 June 2013 OECD Secretariat

2. PISA for DevelopmentManagement arrangements • Main Elements of Governance • Partnership with and ownership by 5 to 7 participating countries • International Steering Group • International and National Implementation • Technical Oversight and Coordination

3. International Steering Group: ToR • To provide substantive and strategic guidance to the project • Membership • Steering Group Decisions • Meetings and Co-chairpersons • Secretariat

4. Technical Advisory Group: ToR TAG to explore and provide recommendations on technical issues related to the development and implementation of the PISA for Development project. Membership Scope of work Ways of working and responsibilities Key tasks and competencies Will follow PISA guiding principles. 

5. PISA for Development Conclusions

6. PISA for DevelopmentInitial Technical Meeting - Conclusions Strong representation at the meeting from Countries committed to or considering participation in PISA for development (Cambodia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mongolia, Punjab (Pakistan), Senegal, Sri Lanka, Zambia), Development partners (France, Germany (BMZ/GIZ), IADB, Korea, Norway, UK (DFID), World Bank), International agencies (UNESCO, UNICEF, GMR, CONFEMEN and PASEC), and Independent technicians in the field.

7. PISA for DevelopmentInitial Technical Meeting - Conclusions Expressed unanimous support for the PISA for development project and Acknowledged the unique value that PISA has as an international benchmarking tool for quality and equity in schooling and for guiding policies for system improvement.

8. PISA for DevelopmentInitial Technical Meeting - Conclusions Were inspired by the presentation of Luiz Costa, President of IMEP, who explained how participation in PISA has helped drive up the quality and inclusiveness of the school system in Brazil, showing that there does not need to be a tradeoff between the two.

9. PISA for DevelopmentInitial Technical Meeting - Conclusions Endorsed the vital role that the PISA context questionnaires play in providing countries with the policy information that can support system improvement and Agreed that adaptation was needed to fit the contexts of developing countries including in measures of the student's home, family and socio-economic contexts, the student's health and well being, their school experience up to the age of 15 years, the resource challenges facing schools.

10. PISA for DevelopmentInitial Technical Meeting - Conclusions Agreed that the cognitive assessment should seek to provide greater resolution of the skills of students at the lower end of the proficiency distribution. Asked for expert input as to how this could be done with the existing pool of PISA items, recognising that new item development would be needed in due course if this was not possible. Noted that the empirical data will indicate to what extent new item development is needed. Noted that PISA has already developed and implemented a component reading skills assessment that provides more detailed information of the reading skills at the lower end of the skills range, and Noted the value in having something similar for mathematics and science.

11. PISA for DevelopmentInitial Technical Meeting - Conclusions Agreed the importance of seeking approaches for including out of school 15-year-olds in the study but recognised the significant challenge in conducting a representative international assessment of their skills. Suggested nevertheless that valuable policy information should be sought that would support efforts for greater in inclusiveness in school systems in the participating countries.

12. PISA for DevelopmentInitial Technical Meeting - Conclusions • Noted the important role that PISA for Development should play in building capacity in the participating countries, including • for developing and conducting national and international large scale assessments, and • for using performance data to diagnose strengths and weaknesses in the education system, and for supporting school improvement efforts.

13. PISA for DevelopmentInitial Technical Meeting - Conclusions Noted the important role that PISA for Development and PISA can play in contributing to post-2015 global educational targets that are focussed on learning.

14. Next Steps OECD to consult further on and then commission technical papers and to prepare ToR for international contractor OECD to write to countries with proposed agreement for participation in the project Countries to respond to OECD’s proposed agreement and to confirm their participation Participating countries to nominate NCs and NPMs

15. Next steps continued Participating countries establish agreements with development partners regarding contributions and support (e.g. international costs, in-country costs and activities) OECD to collate information regarding capacity-building experiences, specifically regarding student assessment and use of results OECD to confirm with development partners agreements for support to the project – general contributions and country-specific contributions OECD to confirm with other agencies arrangements for technical partnerships and collaboration First meetings of International Steering Group and Technical Advisory Group (including capacity-building)

16. Next steps continued • Tendering process to commission international contractor (s) by OECD • Project implementation: • Design, planning and coordination (including capacity assessment and capacity building planning for participating countries); • Technical development • Field trials and main data collection; • Analysis and reporting • Post-pilot governance