Great Expectations: benefits of the PISA experience

Participating in PISA includes broader foci for schools too, helping teachers and school communities understand and support pupil well-being; and another focuses on innovation in assessment practice including the migration to computer-based testing. Both of these present opportunities to support pupils in their personal and technological skills development so they are important expectations for us all to consider as a part of the PISA 2025 experience.

Research shows that test taking, especially high-stakes tests such as GCSEs and A levels, cause some pupils a great deal of understandable stress but, it is also known that good preparation helps in alleviating these anxieties. Practicing tests is a good way to prepare and PISA has a role to play in offering something unique – a test without the need to reach a particular grade. PISA tests challenge pupils to think in different ways and give them a lived experience of taking a test which adds to their examination expertise. Central to PISA is the goal of applying what they know generally to solve problems in real life scenarios and therefore, building relevant transferable skills for the future. We suggest that participating schools talk about the PISA tests in this way with pupils so that they can see its value in terms of how they might apply what they know in a range of situations. These experiences can be used to formatively assess pupils as test takers, allowing them to reflect on what is applicable to test taking experiences in the future, to boost self-confidence and improve general well-being in terms of feeling prepared as learners.

A further skills enhancement feature for pupils is the computer-based and online test taking experience provided by taking part in PISA 2025. In assessment globally, the move to computer-based and online assessment practice has evolved dramatically in the past decade and it is highly likely that in the future, many examinations could be taken either partially or entirely on screen. In most schools, pupils at secondary phase have very little experience of taking tests on computers and yet, this is something they need to know about for important future testing experiences such as the driving theory test, or university examinations etc. Pupils in participating schools in England, Wales and Northern Ireland will take two one-hour tests on screen for PISA 2025. This gives your pupils the opportunity to sit a cutting-edge test and to know that this experience is useful given the expansion of online and on-screen assessments in many aspects of their lives.

Setting the right expectations for pupils taking PISA is important and instead of focusing on the final outcome, a result, this is an opportunity to discuss the process of assessment with them. Pupils who understand assessment practice, who develop literacy from test taking experiences are more likely to be confident as learners and to rely less on the idea that a grade summarises them as a learner. With your help, pupils can unlock the benefits of participating in PISA and know that their participation helps us to understand how they are able to apply their learning in everyday settings.