High-stakes tests as gatekeepers: Interrogating test architecture in Bangladesh
In this post, Maksud Ali, Obaidul Hamid & Ian Hardy from the University of Queensland, discuss their recent paper ‘Ritualisation of testing: problematising high-stakes English-language testing in Bangladesh‘, published in COMPARE, 2020 (vol 50, Issue 4). High-stakes testing has become an inevitable part of Bangladeshi society. In this densely populated country, education and employment opportunities […]
International Large-Scale Assessments in Education – Do They Contribute to Better Results?
By Roar Grøttvik, Political adviser, Union of Education Norway The education systems in most OECD countries have now lived with the consequences of International Large-Scale Assessments (ILSAs) for more than a quarter of a century. Although these international assessments (TIMSS, PISA, PIAAC, PIRLS, etc.) have been debated extensively during this period, it is high […]
Is PISA Worth its Cost? Some Challenges Facing Cost-Benefit Analysis of ILSAs
By Laura Engel (The George Washington University) and David Rutkowski (Indiana University) International large-scale assessments (ILSAs) are a fairly recent phenomena, developed in the mid-20th century and rapidly picking up steam since the mid-1990s. In the last decade, the ILSA industry has grown in terms of the different kinds of assessments, the subject areas assessed, […]
THE LAB INTERVIEW SERIES: AN INTERVIEW WITH ANIL KANJEE
Anil Kanjee is a Research Professor at Tshwane University of Technology in South Africa. He is also an Expert Advisor to the Laboratory of International Assessment Studies. We asked Anil about his experience and views on learning assessments, with a particular focus on PISA for Development, PISA in the African context, and large-scale assessments in South Africa. […]
FEATURED RESEARCH PROJECT: ILSA Inc. How is the global ILSA industry shaping international data on learning outcomes?
ILSA Inc. How is the global ILSA industry shaping international data on learning outcomes? By Camilla Addey, Teachers College, Columbia University This blog presents the ILSAINC research project. Dr Addey has been funded a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship, part of the Horizon 2020 Programme, by the European Commission to carry out this project. Dr Addey will be based at […]