RD166 - Report on Virginia's Potential Participation in the Program for International Student Assessment as an Independent Educational System in 2018 - July 13, 2015


Executive Summary:
In the past several years there has been considerable interest in obtaining information about how the achievement of Virginia students compares to that of their peers in other countries. One way to obtain such information is for Virginia to participate as an independent educational agency in in the 2018 Administration of the Program of International Student Assessments (PISA) so that Virginia-specific results may be obtained. PISA is the largest international education study in the world and is comprised of a set of tests administered to students 15 years of age.

The 2015 Appropriation Act directed the Board of Education and the Secretary of Education to investigate the benefits and costs of Virginia participating in the 2018 administration of the Program of International Student Assessments (PISA) as a "country" so that Virginia-specific results could be obtained.

Item 127, Paragraph F. of the 2015 Appropriation Act contains the following requirement:

"The Secretary of Education, in consultation with the Board of Education, shall review, assess the value and cost of obtaining state-level results from the Program for International Student Assessment. The Secretary shall report the findings to the Chairmen of House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees no later than July 15, 2015."

Additional information about PISA and the potential advantages and disadvantages of Virginia's participation as an independent educational system in the 2018 administration of PISA is provided in the remainder of this report. Should Virginia not participate as an independent educational system in the 2018 PISA, Virginia students will be included in the sample for the United States but results specific to the performance of Virginia students will not be available.