Indicator 13. Change in School Principals' Uses for Assessments

In 2000 and 2009, the United States had a higher percentage of 15-year-olds whose principals reported that assessment results are used to monitor their school's progress from year to year than most G-8 countries reporting data and, with one exception, the highest percentage of students whose principals reported that assessment results are used to compare their school's performance to district- or national-level performance.

PISA asked school principals if the assessment results of 15-year-old students are used at their schools for various purposes: inform parents about their child's progress, make decisions about students' retention or promotion, group students for instructional purposes, compare school's performance to district- or national-level performance, monitor the school's progress from year to year, and make judgments about teachers' effectiveness. Using data from the 2000 and 2009 PISA assessment, this indicator presents information on the extent to which students in the G-8 countries attended schools that use assessment results for each of these purposes.¹⁵

Almost all students in the G-8 countries attended schools that use assessments to inform parents about their child's progress (figure 13-1). Across the G-8 countries with data reported¹⁶ in 2000 and 2009, at least 97 percent of 15-year-olds attended schools whose principals reported that assessments are used to inform parents about their child's progress.

Most students in the G-8 countries attended schools that use assessment results to make decisions about students' retention or promotion. Across the G-8 countries with data reported in 2000 and 2009, at least 70 percent of 15-year-olds attended schools whose principals reported using assessment results to make decisions about students' retention or promotion. In the United States, the percentage in 2009 was lower than the corresponding percentages in Italy, Japan, Canada, the Russian Federation, and Germany—70 percent in the United States compared to a range from 87 to 97 percent. In Germany and Canada, the percentage was 3 and 4 percentage points lower, respectively, in 2009 than in 2000; in Italy, the percentage was 10 percentage points higher in 2009 than in 2000.

The percentage of students who attended schools that use assessment results to group students for instructional purposes varied widely across the G-8 countries with data reported. In 2000, the percentage was higher in Canada (77 percent) than in all other G-8 countries (ranging from 10 percent in Italy to 63 percent in the United States). In 2009, the percentage was higher in the United Kingdom (95 percent) than in all other G-8 countries (ranging from 34 percent in Germany to 76 percent in Canada). In the United States, the corresponding percentages were 63 and 69 percent in 2000 and 2009, respectively. In Japan and Italy, the percentage of 15-year-olds whose principals reported using assessment results to group students for instructional purposes was 13 and 54 percentage points higher, respectively, in 2009 than in 2000.

Among the G-8 countries reporting data in 2000 and 2009, the United States, with one exception, had the highest percentage of students who attended schools that use assessment results to compare the school's performance to district- or national-level performance (92 percent in 2000 and 95 percent in 2009). The one exception was that there was no measurable difference between the percentages for the United States and the United Kingdom in 2009. In Japan, Germany, and Italy, no more than about one-third of 15-year-olds in 2000 and 2009 attended schools whose principals reported that assessment results are used to compare their school's performance to district- or national-level performance. In Japan, the percentage was 13 percentage points higher in 2009 than in 2000; the percentage was 14 percentage points higher in Italy, 22 percentage points higher in Germany, and 29 percentage points higher in Canada in 2009 than in 2000.

In 2000 and 2009, the percentage of students who attended schools that use assessment results to monitor their school's progress from year to year was higher in the United States than in most other G-8 countries. In 2000, the U.S. percentage (93 percent) was higher than the percentages in all other G-8 countries with data reported except the Russian Federation (the percentages in the United States and the Russian Federation were not measurably different). In 2009, the U.S. percentage (98 percent) was higher than the percentages in all other G-8 countries with data reported except the Russian Federation and the United Kingdom (the percentage in the United States did not differ measurably from the percentages in these countries). In Germany, Japan, and Italy, about one-half to three-fourths of 15-year-olds in 2000 and 2009 attended schools whose principals reported that assessment results are used to monitor their school's progress from year to year. The percentage was 12 percentage points higher in the Russian Federation and 19 percentage points higher in Canada in 2009 than in 2000.

The percentage of students who attended schools that use assessment results to make judgments about teachers' effectiveness varied widely across the G-8 countries. In 2000 and 2009, the percentage was higher in the Russian Federation (99 percent in 2000 and 98 percent in 2009) than in all other G-8 countries with data reported (ranging from 8 percent in France to 86 percent in Italy in 2000 and from 20 percent in Italy to 83 percent in the United Kingdom in 2009). In Germany, the percentage of 15-year-olds whose principals reported using assessment results to make judgments about teachers' effectiveness was 9 percentage points higher in 2009 than in 2000, while in Italy, the percentage was 65 percentage points lower in 2009 than in 2000.

Definitions and Methodology

Data for this indicator are from the PISA 2000 and 2009 school questionnaires, which were designed to obtain information about a variety of school-related aspects, including school characteristics, the school's resources, the student body, teachers in the school, pedagogical practices of the school, and administrative structures within the school. At all schools with participating 15-year-old students, a school questionnaire was administered to the principal. It should be noted that the PISA 2000 and 2009 principals do not constitute representative samples of principals. Rather, they are the principals for nationally representative samples of 15-year-old students. Thus, the school data presented in this indicator were analyzed at the student level.

In PISA, "15-year-olds" refers to students who are between 15 years and 3 months old and 16 years and 2 months old at the time of the assess- ment and who have completed at least 6 years of formal schooling.

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¹⁵ In PISA 2009, school principals were also asked if the assessment results of 15-year-old students are used at their schools to identify aspects of instruction or the curriculum that could be improved and to compare the school with other schools. However, since these items were not asked in PISA 2000, the results are not included here.
¹⁶ Data for the United Kingdom in 2000 are not reported due to low response rates, and France did not administer the school questionnaire in 2009.