School Coordinator next steps
Next steps for the PISA School Coordinator
The 10 Steps to Success outlined here are designed to support your school’s appointed PISA School Coordinator (a member of school staff) to deliver the PISA assessment effectively.
If you have any queries on any aspect of the study, please do not hesitate to contact the PISA Support Team.
Timeline for the PISA25 Main Study
Schools Based in England
Timeline for the PISA25 Main Study
Schools Based in Wales and Northern Ireland
Step 1: Initial contact
The PISA Support Team will make initial contact with your school via a letter and welcome email addressed to the school’s Headteacher and Examinations Officer(s). Correspondence will request your participation in the study and allocate the school a PISA test date, please inform your Senior Leadership Team (SLT) and governors that the school has been selected. A member of the PISA Support Team will call the school to discuss the study and answer any questions.
Step 2: Registration and planning
To register for the study, complete the online PISA25 Registration Form linked in your welcome email, confirming key details, including school contact information and suitability of the proposed test date on the welcome letter. If the date is not suitable, please suggest two alternative dates in the test window when you complete the Registration Form. The PISA Support Team will then confirm your test date.
Please then book suitable IT room(s) with enough computer space for 40 pupils to complete the assessment at the same time. You can seat pupils next to each other. These could be IT rooms and/or classrooms with a laptop/PC for each pupil. If you require additional laptops, please contact the PISA Support Team.
Step 3: Pupil list
To be able to select a sample of pupils to participate in the PISA assessment, we require a list of all the 15-year-old pupils (Years 10 and 11) at the school. We provide a date of birth range and instructions to follow, which school administration teams can use to extract the requested information from a school system. The PISA School Coordinator will be sent a document to populate with the data, called a Pupil List. We will ask the School Coordinator to work with the SENCo to provide any relevant SEN information also. The Pupil List document should be submitted to the PISA Support Team securely.
Step 4: Pupil selection
The PISA Support Team will use the Pupil List you provided to randomly select 40 pupils to participate in PISA. The school will receive the list of pupils in document called a Pupil Tracking Form. Check the information is accurate, if any of the selected pupils are SEN review their adjustments and exclude any pupils who are not suitable to take the assessment using the specified non-participation criteria. Return the updated Pupil Tracking Form to the PISA Support Team securely, who will then confirm the final list of pupils who will complete the PISA assessment on the test date.
Step 5: Participation letters
The PISA Support Team will provide the School Coordinator with two letter templates, one to inform pupils and one to inform their parents/guardians about the PISA study and data protection information. The School Coordinator can disseminate the letter via email or physical copies and should update the Pupil Tracking Form if any parents/guardians request their child to be opted out. After an allotted time for parents/guardians to respond, inform the PISA Support Team of the final total of pupils set to participate and notify their classroom teachers of the date and timings of the assessment.
Step 6: ICT testing
We ask the school to complete some ICT checks ahead of the test date, to ensure the delivery of the PISA assessment is as seamless as possible. The School Coordinator will receive instructions to send on to the school’s ICT Manager. These include a School Readiness Diagnostic Check and an Assessment Platform Check, with a test log in to ensure pupils can access the test platform. The school also has the opportunity to highlight any issues or potential connectivity problems in an online ICT Check Form which will be reviewed by the PISA Support Team.
Step 7: School questionnaire
The member of the School Leadership Team or the Headteacher/Principal are asked to complete a questionnaire as part of the PISA study to provide some helpful information about the school context. School Questionnaire instructions and log in details will be provided via email, to be distributed to the relevant parties.
Step 8: Test day preparation
At least two weeks before the test date, the PISA Support Team will confirm the name and email addresses of any Test Administrator(s) who will visit the school on the PISA test date to support its delivery. The Lead Test Administrator will be the contact person for the School Coordinator to discuss test day arrangements, logistics and safeguarding protocols ahead of time. Once details are finalised, participating pupils, their teachers and the school ICT technician should be reminded of assessment location and start time.
PISA assessment materials will be sent via post for the School Coordinator to check all is present and accurate and store in a secure location for use on the test day.
Step 9: Test day
On the day of the PISA study, we ask that the School Coordinator is available to greet the PISA Test Administrator(s) on arrival, accompany to and from the allocated room(s), collect pupils from their lessons (if required) and assist with confirming pupils’ attendance.
The delivery of assessment and questionnaire should follow the planned schedule and every pupil should receive their certificate upon completion. The Pupil Tracking Form with absences notes should be photocopied and the master copy returned to the PISA Support Team.
Step 10: Post-test day
The PISA Support Team will send an online Honorarium Form, requesting the Finance Manager provides school bank details to claim the school’s administration payment as a thank you for participating. A School Coordinator Survey will also be shared, to offer an opportunity to provide feedback about the PISA experience.
Thank you for your participation in PISA. Your contribution is greatly valued and contributes to the improvement of educational policies and practices across the world.