Large-scale learning assessments can be used to generate performance and contextual data on student learning outcomes. They can be national, regional, or international; school based or household based. The UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP-UNESCO) has conducted a qualitative study to explore both how and why learning…

In this paper, we present a novel approach to defining, teaching, and assessing creativity by examining its origins and delineating the processes involved. The rationale for introducing this framework developed from studying existing thinking and questioning the current metrics for measuring creativity, which we posit are unfit for purpose. We…

The purpose of this research is to examine assessment and evaluation activities of secondary school 9th and 10th grade physics textbooks in Turkey according to the revised Bloom Taxonomy and PISA science literacy competence levels. In this study document review, a qualitative research method was used. Within the scope of the study, assessment…

Background/Context:Policy discussions in the U.S. and abroad have become increasingly studded with reference to the results of international tests like PISA. Unlike most assessments, PISA is not designed to measure whether students have mastered a particular school curriculum but rather provide a measure of students' ability to meet future…

Data were gathered from 95 Year 10 students in a New Zealand secondary school to explore how the indicators of scientific literacy are expressed in student responses. These students completed an activity based around the two contexts of lighting and health. A matrix, which incorporated descriptive indicators, was developed to analyse the student…

The purpose of this study is to develop scientific literacy evaluation instrument that tested its validity, reliability, and characteristics to measure the skill of student's scientific literacy used four scientific literacy, categories as follow:science as a body of knowledge (category A), science as a way of thinking (category B), science as a…

Based on a sample of 312 high school teachers who participated in the Israeli PISA assessment of student academic achievement in 2002, the current study examines the mediatory role of their perception of the subject matter (as "open/flexible'" or "closed/hierarchical") in the relation between their disciplinary expertise…

This policy brief examines standards-based approaches that hold promise for shaping a common vision of skilled teaching commensurate with the national goal of preparing all students for college and careers. Numerous studies confirm that teachers are the most significant school-based factor in improving student achievement, particularly for the…

The "Condition of Education" summarizes important developments and trends in education using the latest available data. For the 2009 edition, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) prepared this supplemental report to take a closer look at U.S. student performance on international assessments. This special analysis examines…