Lessons Learned from PISA: A Systematic Review of Peer-Reviewed Articles on the Programme for International Student Assessment

• Published in: Scandinavian journal of educational research Vol. 62; no. 3; pp. 333 - 353
• Main Authors: Hopfenbeck, Therese N., Lenkeit, Jenny, El Masri, Yasmine, Cantrell, Kate, Ryan, Jeanne, Baird, Jo-Anne
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 04.05.2018; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Achievement Tests; Criticism; critiques; Culture Fair Tests; Difficulty Level; Education policy; Educational Policy; English language; Evaluation Criteria; Foreign Countries; Foreign students; Incidence; International Assessment; Item Response Theory; Literature Reviews; Outcomes of Education; Periodicals; PISA; Pointing; policy impact; Sampling; Scaling; Scholarship; secondary analysis; Secondary School Students; Statistical Analysis; Student Evaluation; Systematic review; Test Bias; Test Items
• ISSN: 0031-3831; 1470-1170
• DOI: 10.1080/00313831.2016.1258726

International large-scale assessments are on the rise, with the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) seen by many as having strategic prominence in education policy debates. The present article reviews PISA-related English-language peer-reviewed articles from the programme's first cycle in 2000 to its most current in 2015. Five literature bases were searched, and results were analysed with SPSS. Results map the frequency of publications according to journal, country, and scientific discipline. They also summarise major themes within three identified categories: secondary analysis, policy impact, and critiques. Findings indicated that studies based on the PISA dataset has led to progress in educational research while simultaneously pointing to the need for caution when using this research to inform educational policy.