NCES International Assessments and the International Data Explorer

NCES International Assessments and the International Data Explorer Education Writers Association April 7, 2011 Dana Kelly NCES

Presentation Overview • • • Overview of NCES international assessments International Data Explorer – What it is – How to use it – Using it for your stories Other information and resources at NCES

NCES International Assessments Study PISA Program for International Student Assessment PIRLS Progress in International Reading Literacy Study TIMSS Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study PIAAC Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies What? Who? When? How many countries? Reading, mathematics, and science literacy 15 -year-olds Every 3 years: next: 2012 65 Reading literacy 4 th-graders Every 5 years, next: 2011 59 Mathematics and science 4 th- and 8 th-graders Every 4 years, next: 2011 56 (gr 4) 54 (gr 8) Literacy, numeracy, problem solving in technology-rich environments, components of reading 16 – 65 yearolds 2011 27

• More About International Assessments Two major organizations: – International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) • Conducts TIMSS and PIRLS • Major activity is comparative educational studies, research and training – Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) • Conducts PISA and PIAAC • Data collection in education and other fields • Collects indicators to inform governments – Education at a Glance • 34 member countries

• • • More About International Assessments Representative samples of students (or adults) take the assessments Countries adhere to international standards to ensure comparability Designed to provide estimates for groups, not individuals – Countries and subnational entities – Subgroups within (e. g. , gender) No individual takes the entire assessment Designed to measure trends over time

What Kind of Information Do International Assessments Provide?

What Kind of Information Do International Assessments Provide? • • • Comparison of U. S. performance with other countries/education systems Within-country performance Performance in subject areas and subdomains: average scores and distributions, percentages at performance levels Performance by subgroup Trends over time Contextual data from students, schools, teachers – Students’ experiences, expectations, home background, attitudes – School characteristics, policies, resources – Teacher preparation, instructional practices 8

International Data Explorer • • Online, interactive tool with data from PISA, TIMSS, and PIRLS Create customized tables, charts, and maps Export to Word, Excel, HTML, PDF Easy to use!

International Data Explorer Results 10

For More Information and Data NCES: http: //nces. ed. gov NCES International Activities Program http: //nces. ed. gov/surveys/international/ International Table Library: http: //nces. ed. gov/surveys/international/table-library. asp International Data Explorer http: //nces. ed. gov/surveys/international/ide/

NCES International Activities Program Study Contacts PISA: Dana Kelly dana. kelly@ed. gov 202 -219 -7101 PIRLS: Stephen Provasnik stephen. provasnik@ed. gov 202 -502 -7480 TIMSS: Patrick Gonzales patrick. gonzales@ed. gov 415 -920 -9229 PIAAC: Eugene Owen eugene. owen@ed. gov 202 -502 -7426 12