Information for Students and Parents
Overview PISA Welcome What is Pisa? Which Countries Take Part in PISA? What Information does PISA collect? What does PISA tell us? PISA 2006 PISA 2009 Publications Useful Links National Advisory Committee Contact Information for Students ICCS TALIS	If you have been asked to take part in PISA, or you are the parent of a PISA student, you are probably wondering what PISA is all about. On this page (and related pages), we try to answer the questions that are typically asked by students. If you are a parent, click here to see a brochure designed for parents of PISA students. What is PISA? What is the test like? How come I was picked? What do I have to do? Who gets to see my results? Why should I take part? What is PISA? PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) is an international survey of 15-year-olds that takes place every three years. It is one of the largest surveys in the world and it measures reading, science and mathematics skills, and also gathers information on attitudes and interests. It is used to compare the education systems in different countries, and the results help to shape governments’ policies on education. If you take part, you will be one of roughly 300,000 students in over 60 countries around the world doing so. What is the test like? PISA questions are designed to be a bit more interesting than the sort of exam questions you have seen before. It is not based on the courses you have taken in school, so there is no need to study for it. You can take part even if you don’t study science in school. If you want to see a few examples of the sort of questions asked, click here. As part of the latest version of PISA, about one in three students will also be given a computer-based reading test. This is an interactive test, and it mimics the sort of real-life activities that you would do on, such as, an internet search. How come I was picked? Believe it or not, you were picked at random. A number of post-primary schools in Ireland were randomly picked to take part in PISA. For those schools, we produced a list of all students who were or would be 15 at some stage during the current school year. Then, for each school, we randomly picked up to 35 students from the list to take part in the assessment. You are one of these students, chosen to represent Ireland in PISA. What do I have to do? If you have been picked to take part in PISA, all you have to do is turn up on the day arranged for the test in your school. You will take the test along with the other selected students in your school, some of whom will be in a different year to you. The person who is organizing the test will bring you to a room that has been set aside for the test. S/he will read out a set of instructions and then you will all begin the test. After the test, you’ll fill in a questionnaire about you, your attitudes, and interests. The whole process, including some short breaks, will be completed by lunchtime. Some of you may also be asked to take part in a computer-based assessment. This is quite different to the normal sort of tests that you’ve seen, and most students seem to find this type of test quite interesting and enjoyable. The computer-based assessment usually takes place after lunch. If you’ve been chosen to take part in this part of PISA, the person organizing the test session will let you know (probably when they tell you that you’ve been chosen to take part in PISA). Who gets to see my results? Don’t worry. All results from PISA are totally confidential. This means that not even your teachers get to see your results. When you finish answering all the questions, your answer booklet is sent to the Educational Research Centre in Dublin. We enter your answers into a computer database, and from then on you are identified only by a number, not by your name. We never give out information on individuals. The point of PISA is to provide information on Irish students as a group. We will compare students in Ireland with students in (for example) New Zealand, but we will not compare your results with those of your classmates. Why should I take part? As we said earlier, PISA gives you a chance to represent Ireland. That, in itself, is an important reason for you to take part. Your test results and your opinions will help to influence what happens in Irish schools over the next few years. Some students do not want to take part because they feel that it is taking time away from studying or from classes. However, the time involved is only a very tiny part of a school year. Also, because of the way PISA questions are designed, it may help you to look at some of your subjects from a different point of view. Finally, PISA gives a picture of what is happening in Irish schools and what Irish students think. In order for that picture to be a truthful one, it is very important that people like you take part.

International Studies

Information for Students and Parents

If you have been asked to take part in PISA, or you are the parent of a PISA student, you are probably wondering what PISA is all about. On this page (and related pages), we try to answer the questions that are typically asked by students. If you are a parent, click here to see a brochure designed for parents of PISA students.

• What is PISA?
• What is the test like?
• How come I was picked?
• What do I have to do?
• Who gets to see my results?
• Why should I take part?

What is PISA?

PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) is an international survey of 15-year-olds that takes place every three years. It is one of the largest surveys in the world and it measures reading, science and mathematics skills, and also gathers information on attitudes and interests. It is used to compare the education systems in different countries, and the results help to shape governments’ policies on education. If you take part, you will be one of roughly 300,000 students in over 60 countries around the world doing so.

What is the test like?

PISA questions are designed to be a bit more interesting than the sort of exam questions you have seen before. It is not based on the courses you have taken in school, so there is no need to study for it. You can take part even if you don’t study science in school. If you want to see a few examples of the sort of questions asked, click here. As part of the latest version of PISA, about one in three students will also be given a computer-based reading test. This is an interactive test, and it mimics the sort of real-life activities that you would do on, such as, an internet search.

How come I was picked?

Believe it or not, you were picked at random. A number of post-primary schools in Ireland were randomly picked to take part in PISA. For those schools, we produced a list of all students who were or would be 15 at some stage during the current school year. Then, for each school, we randomly picked up to 35 students from the list to take part in the assessment. You are one of these students, chosen to represent Ireland in PISA.

What do I have to do?

If you have been picked to take part in PISA, all you have to do is turn up on the day arranged for the test in your school. You will take the test along with the other selected students in your school, some of whom will be in a different year to you. The person who is organizing the test will bring you to a room that has been set aside for the test. S/he will read out a set of instructions and then you will all begin the test. After the test, you’ll fill in a questionnaire about you, your attitudes, and interests. The whole process, including some short breaks, will be completed by lunchtime.

Some of you may also be asked to take part in a computer-based assessment. This is quite different to the normal sort of tests that you’ve seen, and most students seem to find this type of test quite interesting and enjoyable. The computer-based assessment usually takes place after lunch. If you’ve been chosen to take part in this part of PISA, the person organizing the test session will let you know (probably when they tell you that you’ve been chosen to take part in PISA).

Who gets to see my results?

Don’t worry. All results from PISA are totally confidential. This means that not even your teachers get to see your results. When you finish answering all the questions, your answer booklet is sent to the Educational Research Centre in Dublin. We enter your answers into a computer database, and from then on you are identified only by a number, not by your name. We never give out information on individuals. The point of PISA is to provide information on Irish students as a group. We will compare students in Ireland with students in (for example) New Zealand, but we will not compare your results with those of your classmates.

Why should I take part?

As we said earlier, PISA gives you a chance to represent Ireland. That, in itself, is an important reason for you to take part. Your test results and your opinions will help to influence what happens in Irish schools over the next few years. Some students do not want to take part because they feel that it is taking time away from studying or from classes. However, the time involved is only a very tiny part of a school year. Also, because of the way PISA questions are designed, it may help you to look at some of your subjects from a different point of view. Finally, PISA gives a picture of what is happening in Irish schools and what Irish students think. In order for that picture to be a truthful one, it is very important that people like you take part.