Currently the most important international survey in the area of assessment of education outcomes is the international OECD project PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment). It is designed to provide policy makers in individual countries with an important feedback on achievement and effectiveness of their school systems and at the same time to enable international comparison of students´ outcomes at the end of compulsory school attendance. In the three years cycles, the survey monitors the education outcomes of the fifteen years old pupils from participating countries in three functional literacies: reading, mathematics and science.
 
The Czech Republic has participated in preparation and realization of the OECD PISA project since 1997. The first PISA survey was conducted as early as in 2000, focusing on reading skills.
 
The institution in charge of PISA surveys in the Czech Republic is the Czech School Inspectorate.

The national coordinator for the PISA survey is Ms. Simona Boudová (simona.boudova@csicr.cz). 

 

In 2012 the fifth cycle of PISA international survey took place, focusing mainly on numeracy.
 
The best performers in mathematics testing were students from Asian countries. Far the best performers were students from Shanghai. The results of Czech students were average, though better in comparison with preceding cycle in 2009.
 
In reading and science literacy, the Asian students performed the best again. Czech students’ results in reading were average, however significantly better than in 2009. Czech students have improved also at science. Their results in 2012 were above average compare to 2009.
 
The interdisciplinary problems solving skills were also tested within PISA 2012. Authentic and complex problem situations were included into the test, so that students had to actively seek and acquire relevant information to find solution.
 
The results of Czech students in problem solving were better than in mathematics, reading or science. They were slightly above average in comparison with other countries. Better than our students did e.g. students from Singapore, Canada, Australia or Finland. Students from Norway, Ireland, Denmark, Poland, Slovakia or Spain achieved worse results.
 
PISA 2012 included an assessment of students’ financial literacy – the first international survey of this kind. 18 OECD and partner countries and economies participated. In July 2014 the results from the international PISA 2012 financial literacy assessment were published.
 
The results of the Czech pupils in financial literacy were above average. Czech pupils were among 7 most successful countries and their results are comparable with results of pupils from Poland and New Zealand. Czech pupils performed better than the pupils in the USA, Russia, France, Croatia, Slovenia, Spain, Israel and Slovakia. On the other hand pupils from Shanghai-China, Belgium, Estonia and Australia performed better.
 

The CSI has been preparing the PISA 2015 survey since June 2012. Within preparatory works (conceptual framework review, creation of new science tasks, diagnostics of ICT equipment in schools, development of questionnaires and their individual items review) the piloting was carried out with a school selection sample at the turn of March and April 2014. The tests and questionnaires assessment, data refining and its delivery to the International centre took place between April and June 2014.

 
The main collection of data for PISA 2015 in the Czech Republic will be conducted between March and April 2015. Substantial changes occurred in this PISA cycle. In 2015, all the students will fill in the PISA tests exclusively via computers. Each student will receive a flash disc with test modules. The main area pursued during the sixth cycle will be science. Thematic survey on students’ teamwork problems solving literacy (Collaborative Problem Solving) will be also included in PISA 2015.
 
PISA 2015 results (national and international reports) are to be published in December 2016.