Assessment for Monitoring of Education Systems: International Comparisons

Over the last two decades, with the increase in both numbers of participating jurisdictions and media attention, international large-scale assessments (ILSAs) have come to play a more salient role in global education policies than they once did. This has led to calls for greater transparency with regard to instrument development and closer scrutiny of the use of instruments in education policy. We begin with a brief review of the history of ILSAs and describe the requirements and constraints that shape ILSA design, implementation, and analysis. We then evaluate the rationales of employing ILSA results for different purposes, ranging from those we argue are most appropriate (comparative description) to least appropriate (causal inference). We cite examples of ILSA usage from different countries, with particular attention to the widespread misinterpretations and misuses of country rankings based on average scores on an assessment (e.g., literacy or numeracy). Looking forward, we offer suggestions on how to enhance the constructive roles that ILSAs play in informing education policy.