PISA Tests: How useful are they for comparative work?

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• Professor Anna Vignoles, University of Cambridge; Professor John Micklewright, Institute of Education; Dr Tom Benton, Cambridge Assessment; Dr Tim Oates, Cambridge Assessment
• Friday 09 May 2014, 13:00-15:00
• Faculty of Education, 184 Hills Road, Cambridge, CB2 8PQ, DMB, Room GS5.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Lucian Stephenson.

This seminar will focus on the usefulness of PISA tests for comparing the educational performance of countries and highlight the methodological and other challenges posed when doing so.

Professor John Micklewright, Institute of Education Methodological challenges when using PISA data

John Micklewright is Professor of Economics and Social Statistics at the Institute of Education, London. His research interests cover educational achievement, poverty and inequality, labour market flows, charitable giving and survey methods. His previous appointments include chairs at the European University Institute, Queen Mary London, and the University of Southampton. He also worked for several years for the UN in the UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre. He leads the team producing the national report for England for the OECD ’s 2013 TALIS survey of teachers and the 2015 PISA survey of pupils.

Dr Tim Oates, Cambridge Assessment PISA : How we got to where we are

Tim Oates is Group Director of Assessment Research and Development at Cambridge Assessment, leading a 40+ research group which focuses on national and international research on assessment and measurement. In 2005, whilst Head of Research at the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, Tim co-authored, with Dr Mike Coles, the foundational research for the European Framework of Reference Levels, which became the European Qualifications Framework. He joined Cambridge Assessment in 2006. He has published widely on technical evaluation of assessment and is a member of the Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation’s Standards Advisory Group. Tim regularly has provided briefings and evidence for the House of Commons Education Select Committee, and routinely provides briefings and advice to UK Government and a range of governments around the world. He is a visiting professor at the University of Leeds and a Fellow of Churchill College Cambridge.

Dr Tom Benton, Cambridge Assessment Examining the link between autonomy, accountability and achievement in PISA

Dr Tom Benton has worked in educational statistics since 2001. Prior to joining Cambridge Assessment in 2012 he worked for the National Foundation for Education Research (NFER) as an expert in the field of statistical analysis. His work at NFER included test development, survey research, programme evaluation, benchmarking and international comparisons. He has been closely involved with a number of large-scale national and international surveys of young people as well as the development and standardisation of numerous educational tests.

Talks from the speakers will be followed by a panel debate chaired by Professor Anna Vignoles.

This talk is part of the ELPEC Group Seminars series.

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• Faculty of Education, 184 Hills Road, Cambridge, CB2 8PQ, DMB, Room GS5

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