The PISA tests is a programme which assesses and evaluates educational systems by measuring fifteen year old pupils performance in schools by conducting tests every three years in reading, science and math. The first PISA test was conducted in 2006; Wales scored 484 in math, 481 in reading and 505 in science. This means that in 2006 Wales had the lowest scores out of the UK countries. After gaining feedback from schools and staff in Wales the Welsh Assembly Government were able to form relevant points about how schools and staff felt about PISA tests such as: PISA, 2009
“Schools reported that assessments serve various purposes. They are used most often to inform parents and to inform school improvement. Schools frequently used coursework or homework to assess pupils, although they also report frequent use of teacher-developed tests and teacher judgments.” (National Foundation for Educational Research, 2009)
This shows that despite PISA tests being used in 90 different countries around the world Wales “were generally more positive about the value of school and their relationship with their teachers than the average across OECD countries.” If a child feels that they’re able to ask a teacher for support and guidance but also if the child enjoys their lessons delivered by the teaching staff they will learn more as they will be more involved and immersed in the lesson.
Wales were on the lower level of level 3 on the PISA scoring bored for maths compared to the other UK countries like Scotland who despite are on Level 3 they are on the higher end of level 3. This shows that the gap between Wales and Scotland at a glance may seem minor however when you analyse the results in terms of levels the gap is quite wide.
In 2009 Wales fell a further 8 spaces to 38th in the rankings out of the 90 countries for reading. In the last PISA test conducted in 2006 Wales was 30th in the 90 rankings showing that Wales hadn’t developed ad had instead fallen further behind other countries. Likewise in 2009 Wales ranked 40th internationally in their maths scores compared to being 34th in 2006. This shows that Wales had fallen a further six places in three years instead of improving their scores. Similarly in 2009 Wales ranked 30th out of the 90 countries however in 2006 Wales was 22nd showing that they had fallen a further 8 spaces showing they hadn’t improved their last PISA test score. It was also derived from the test results that boys out performed girls in maths and science but girls out performed boys in their reading. Due to Wales underperforming in 2009 and not improving on their previous rankings something had to be brought in to allow Wales to develop. The OECD decided that Wales needed to; “set high expectations and promote the use of differentiated teaching” – with “one in five students living in poverty and the same proportion with special education needs” there is a need for Wales to move to more “personalised learning” (OECD, 2014, p. 8). Wales needed to “streamline and resource school-to-school collaboration”- which will develop a “welsh strategy for school-to-school collaboration” (OECD, 2014, p.8). Also “Strengthen evaluation and assessment competencies at all levels” – teachers should assess students against their learning objectives and also “develop data – handling” skills between
Early Years Education - EYE 