The Role of International Large-Scale Assessments: Perspectives from Technology, Economy, and Educational Research

Abstract

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012944183 © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013No part of this work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher, with the exception of any material supplied specifically for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work.v Preface This volume consists of the papers presented at the International Large-Scale Assessment conference held at Educational Testing Service (ETS) in March 2011. The conference was designed to present and discuss multidisciplinary issues related to the use and implementation of international large-scale assessments. It was geared towards funders, policymakers, managers, and technical staff of international largescale assessment programs. The conference covered the following topics: largescale assessments as change agents; technologies in large-scale assessments; the role of assessing cognitive skills in international growth and development; the utility and need for assessing noncognitive skills in large-scale assessments; the contributions of international large-scale studies in civic engagement and citizenship; and the role of large-scale assessments in research on educational effectiveness and school development.The different perspectives brought together in this volume reflect the changing landscape of these surveys both in terms of the widening group of researchers and policymakers interested in these data and the issues that should and could be addressed. Among these new directions is a surge in the use of large-scale assessment data in the field of economics as well as an increased interest in how these assessments can inform and the use of technology in education and assessment. In addition, research in civics and citizenship studies as well as investigations focusing on motivation, interest, and self concept indicate great interest in the data collected in international comparisons of education and skills.Bringing together expert authors to produce such a volume would not have been possible without the generous support of ETS. ETS provided funding for the speakers and sustenance for all conference participants. Also contributing to the success of the conference was the set of invited experts who agreed to provide reflection

Testing to Rank, Testing to Learn, Testing to Improve: An Introduction and Overview

“…As discussed in Rutkowski and Rutkowski (this issue), the number of academic articles that mention TIMSS, PIRLS or PISA is substantial: 128 articles in scholarly peer-reviewed journals between 2008 and 2011 (up from 79 articles between 2000 and 2003). In the last several years, a number of academic books have been published on the topic (see Wiseman, 2010;Papanastasiou et al, 2011;Pereyra et al, 2011;Meyer & Benavot, 2013;von Davier et al, 2013). We include reviews of three.…”

Placing blame or a call to action? An analysis of Uwezo in the Kenyan press

“…Using assessments to promote accountability of education actors, namely teachers and school administrators, has become one of the most persistent global education policies in recent decades. Whether through the growth of cross-national or national assessments, using tests has become an integral component for governments and the public to hold those exerting leadership in schools and classrooms accountable (Anagnostopoulos et al, 2013;Lewis & Lingard, 2015;von Davier et al, 2013). Test-based accountability focuses extensively on results and the numbers as objective measures of effectiveness, and provides ample space for comparisons, blame and scandalization.…”

Determinante del desempeño en lectura en Uruguay: un análisis multinivel a partir de TERCE

“…Por otra parte, en la medida que crece el interés en los procesos educativos y su impacto en el futuro de las vidas de las personas, las evaluaciones internacionales de aprendizaje a gran escala (ILSA, por su sigla en inglés) se han expandido considerablemente (Hanushek, 2011(Hanushek, , 2013Kirsch y Braun;2020). Estas evaluaciones proporcionan información para una variedad de actores, decisores de política, investigadores y la comunidad educativa en general (Blossfeld et al, 2009;Ritzen, 2013;Von Davier et. al., 2013).…”