International Studies

Welcome to the Irish PISA Website

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is an international assessment of ‎the skills and knowledge of 15-year-olds.  Rather than assessing school-based curricula, PISA ‎assesses students’ performance on ‘real-life’ tasks that are considered relevant for effective ‎participation in adult society and for life-long learning. PISA is implemented every three years, ‎starting in 2000, and 2012 will see the fifth implementation of the study. The number of countries ‎participating in PISA has increased from 32 in 2000 to 65 in 2009, making it the largest study of ‎its kind‎.

• If you are one of the schools who has been asked to take part in PISA, click here to see what this involves.

• If you are one of the students who has been asked to take part in PISA, click here to see what this involves.

The subject areas or ‘domains’ assessed by PISA are reading, mathematics and science. In each ‎cycle of PISA, one of these subjects is the main focus (‘major domain’) of the assessment, with ‎less emphasis placed on the remaining subjects (‘minor domains’). As shown in the table below, ‎reading was the major domain in PISA 2000, mathematics in 2003, science in 2006, reading for ‎the second time in 2009 and mathematics for the second time in 2012. Occasionally, additional ‎subject areas are also assessed, e.g. cross-curricular problem-solving was a minor domain in ‎PISA 2003 and will be assessed again in 2012‎.

PISA is a project of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).  In ‎Ireland, the project is managed by the Educational Research Centre in collaboration with the ‎Department of Education and Skills.  This website introduces PISA and describes how it is ‎implemented both internationally and in Ireland.  Links to some of the national and international ‎bodies involved in PISA are also provided‎.

The PISA 2009 results

National PISA publications can be downloaded  here.

International PISA publications are available here.

The fifth cycle of PISA – PISA 2012 – is now underway. Click here ‎‎ for more details.‎