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PISA 2006 Test results for the European School of Luxembourg Bettina Böhm Ulrich Keller
Structure PISA 2006 An overview Sample tasks in science Mean performance of students in the EU Test results and student characteristics for the European School Perspectives on PISA 2009 3
PISA 2006 An overview
Background PISA = Programme for International Student Assessment Sponsored and created by the OECD together with participating countries Why PISA? To compare students performance to that of other countries To understand why students achieve certain levels of performance To ensure that students obtain basic skills 5
Assessment areas 3 key subject areas Reading, math and science Cross-curricular competencies Motivation, attitudes towards learning, problem-solving, information and communication technology, learning strategies 6
Framework: Literacy Literacy =broad conception of knowledge and skills Is concerned with the capacity of students To extrapolate from what they have learned, and to apply their knowledge in new settings To analyse, reason and communicate effectively as they pose, solve and interpret problems in a variety of situations PISA does not measure the reproduction of narrowly defined subject-matter knowledge. 7
Survey cycle Conducted every 3 years In each cycle, one of the three domains is examined in-depth 2000: Reading 2003: Math 2006: Science The two other domains become minor subjects of assessment 8
Student population 15-year-old students Altogether around 400,000 students in 57 participating countries Randomly selected Between 4,500 and 10,000 students per country Census in Luxembourg 9
Test instruments Students School principals Parents 2 hour paper-andpencil tasks 60% multiple choice items 40% open-format items Questionnaire about their school 30 min questionnaire Questionnaire about their child s science learning and their child s school 10
PISA 2006 - Outcomes A profile of knowledge and skills among 15- year-olds a detailed profile in science an update for reading and mathematics Trend data In reading and math Contextual indicators Relating student performance to student and school characteristics 11
PISA 2006 Participating Countries OECD-Countries (30) OECD-Partner Countries (27) Australia Austria Belgium Canada Czech Republic Denmark Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Japan Korea Luxembourg Mexico Netherlands New Zealand Norway Poland Portugal Slovak Republic Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey United Kingdom United States Argentina Azerbaijan Brazil Bulgaria Chile Colombia Croatia Estonia Hong Kong-China Indonesia Israel Jordan Kyrgyzstan Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Macao-China Montenegro Qatar Romania Russian Federation Serbia Slovenia Taipei-China Thailand Tunisia Uruguay 12
PISA 2006 Sample tasks in science
VI Question Acid Rain Below is a photo of statues called Caryatids that were built on the Acropolis in Athens more than 2500 years ago. The statues are made of a type of rock called marble. Marble is composed of calcium carbonate. In 1980, the original statues were transferred inside the museum of the Acropolis and were replaced by replicas. The original statues were being eaten away by acid rain. Experiment: The effect of acid rain on marble can be modelled by placing chips of marble in vinegar overnight. Vinegar and acid rain have about the same acidity level. When a marble chip is placed in vinegar, bubbles of gas form. The mass of the dry marble chip can be found before and after the experiment. Acid Rain Question 2: A marble chip has a mass of 2.0 grams before being immersed in vinegar overnight. The chip is removed and dried the next day. What will the mass of the dried marble chip be? A: Less than 2.0 grams B: Exactly 2.0 grams C: Between 2.0 and 2.4 grams D: More than 2.4 grams 669 607 545 483 421 358 V IV III II I Competency: Using scientific evidence 14
Full Credit VI Question Acid Rain Below is a photo of statues called Caryatids that were built on the Acropolis in Athens more than 2500 years ago. The statues are made of a type of rock called marble. Marble is composed of calcium carbonate. Experiment: The effect of acid rain on marble can be modelled by placing chips of marble in vinegar overnight. Vinegar and acid rain have about the same acidity level. When a marble chip is placed in vinegar, bubbles of gas form. The mass of the dry marble chip can be found before and after the experiment. 669 607 545 Partial Credit 483 V IV III In 1980, the original statues were transferred inside the museum of the Acropolis and were replaced by replicas. The original statues were being eaten away by acid rain. Acid Rain Question 5: Students who did this experiment also placed marble chips in pure (distilled) water overnight. Explain why the students included this step in their experiment. 421 358 II I Competency: Identifying scientific issues 15
VI Question Physical Exercise Regular but moderate physical exercise is good for our health. 669 607 V IV 545 III 483 II Physical Exercise Question 5: Why do you have to breathe more heavily when you re doing physical exercise than when your body is resting? 421 358 I Competency: Explaining phenomena scientifically 16
PISA 2006 Mean performance of students in the European Union
Science Reading Mathematics Finland Estonia Netherlands Slovenia Germany Unit. Kingd. Czech Rep. Austria Belgium Ireland Hungary Sweden OECD-Ave. Poland Denmark France Latvia Slovak Rep. Spain Lithuania Luxembourg Italy Portugal Greece Bulgaria Romania 563 531 525 519 516 515 513 511 510 508 504 503 500 498 496 495 490 488 488 488 486 475 474 473 434 418 0 200 400 600 Score Finland Ireland Poland Sweden Netherlands Belgium Estonia Unit. Kingd. Germany Denmark Slovenia OECD-Ave. Austria France Czech Rep. Hungary Latvia Luxembourg Portugal Lithuana Italy Slovak Rep. Spain Greece Bulgaria Romania 547 517 508 507 507 501 501 495 495 494 494 492 490 488 483 482 479 479 472 470 469 466 461 460 402 396 0 200 400 600 Score Finland Netherlands Belgium Estonia Denmark Czech Rep. Austria Slovenia Germany Sweden Ireland OECD-Ave. France Unit. Kingd. Poland Slovak Rep. Hungary Luxembourg Lithuania Latvia Spain Portugal Italy Greece Romania Bulgaria 548 531 520 515 513 510 505 504 504 502 501 498 496 495 495 492 491 490 486 486 480 466 462 459 415 413 0 200 400 600 18 Score Above the OECD-Average On the OECD-Average Below the OECD-Average
PISA 2006 Test results for the European School
Participants at EEL Number of Students Percent girls Mean SES* at the school Students with migration background Language spoken at home is test language N % % % English % Test language French % German % L1 118 48 L2 127 43 above average above average 89 75 30 51 19 93 3 56 36 8 Enseignement Secondaire (ES) = lycées classiques 1589 55 18 7 0 15 85 *Socio-economic status compared with ES 20
L1 and ES students Mean performance of students Mean score 600 580 583 560 565 581 593 552 553 556 545 542 572 400 200 0 Science Reading Mathematics Identifying scientific issues Explaining phenomena scientifically Using scientific evidence Ecole Européenne (EE) Enseignement Secondaire (ES) 21
L1 and ES students Proficiency levels 80,0 60,0 3,7 11,7 Figures in percent (%) 40,0 20,0 18,1 40,4 1,2 12,0 33,6 17,9 13,2 38,4 38,3 5,5 24,6 18,3 34,8 32,6 Level 6 Level 5 Level 4 0,0 EE ES EE ES EE ES Science Reading Mathematics Science Level 4: 559 633 Level 5: 633 708 Level 6: > 708 score points Reading Level 4: 553 626 Level 5: > 626 score points Mathematics Level 4: 545 607 Level 5: 607 670 Level 6: > 670 score points 22
L1 students High performing students by gender 100% 80% 60% 40% 43% 57% 56% 44% 46% 54% Girls Boys 20% 0% Science Reading Mathematics 23
L1 and L2 students Mean performance of students Mean score 700 600 500 560 515 583 580 565 581 593 545 538 520 537 552 400 300 200 L1 students L2 students 100 0 Reading Math Science Identifying scientific issues Explaining phenomena scientifically Using scientific evidence 24
L1 and L2 students Differences in mean scores 100 Score point difference (L1 L2) 80 60 40 42 45 38 45 45 40 20 0 Science Reading Mathematics Identifying scientific issues Explaining phenomena scientifically Using scientific evidence 25
The International Socio-Economic Index of Occupational Status (ISEI) Combines educational level and income associated with occupations Ranges from 16 (farm hands, cleaners, helpers) to 90 (judges); some other values: Secondary school teachers: 69 Statisticians: 71 HISEI: highest ISEI of parents 26
HISEI and PISA science scores (correlation =.43) 27
Mean HISEI by school 28
Percentage of parents with University degrees by school 29
Controlling for background variables 1. Compute weights that reflect the ES students similarity to the European School s students 2. Use the weights to compute weighted means for the ES students 3. Interpretations of the weighted means: expected mean of ES if parental education etc. were as high as in the European School 30
Unweighted mean scores 31
Weighted mean scores 32
Unweighted and weighted differences between ES and European School 33
Aspects of motivation in science Motivation in Science General interest Enjoyment Selfconcept Selfefficacy How much interest do you have in learning about the biology of plants? I generally have fun when I am learning science topics. I can easily understand new ideas in school science. How easy would it be for you to perform the following task: Describe the role of antibiotics in the treatment of disease. 34
Science: Interest, enjoyment, self- concept and self-efficacy 35
Aspects of science teaching Science Teaching Hands-on activity Interaction Student investigation Focus on applications Students spend time in the laboratory doing practical experiments Students are given opportunities to explain their ideas Students are allowed to design their own experiments The students are asked to apply a school science concept to everyday problems 36
Aspects of science teaching 37
Satisfaction of parents with the European School 38
PISA 2009 Outlook
PISA 2009 - Outlook Participating countries 30 OECD-countries 37 Partner countries New participants: e.g. Dubai, Singapore, Peru, Panama, Albania Age group Students born between 1 Jan 1993 and 31 Dec 1993 Assessment period 20 April to 22 May 2009 Assessed domains Major domain: Reading Minor domains: Science and Mathematics Test languages Second-Day of Testing Option French, German, English Aim: Assess students multi-lingual competencies in French and German 40
Thank you very much for your attention! PISA Online: www.pisa.oecd.org Luxembourg s PISA 2006 report: www.men.lu, Search for PISA