PISA

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) assesses skills and knowledge of students worldwide and compares them internationally. PISA is a project of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

On behalf of the standing Conference of the Minister of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany (KMK), the national project management for PISA 2025 (after 2012, 2015, 2018 and 2022) is managed by the Center for International Student Assessment (ZIB), located at the Technische Universität München (Munich, Germany). Prof. Dr. Doris Lewalter is responsible for the scientific project management. Data collection is conducted by the IEA Hamburg.

The three main domains of PISA - Scientific-, Reading-, and Mathematical Literacy - are key to lifelong learning. PISA assesses the performance of 15 year-olds, provides information on the results of teaching and learning in schools and shows developments in the educational system. The conformity of the test items with the curricula of the participating countries is less important than the measurement of basic competences in different applied situations. The concept of literacy in PISA is therefore functionalistic: 15-year-old students should use the competences they acquired in school in diverse applied situations. The PISA test is entirely computer based since 2015.