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PISA Young Adult Follow-up Study


What is PISA?

PISA is the largest international comparative education study in the world and is conducted every 3 years. More than 60 countries participate each cycle. PISA assesses 15-year-old students in mathematics, reading, and science literacy. PISA is unique because it focuses on how well students can apply their knowledge and skills they have acquired both in and out of school in real-life contexts. PISA results have been used by researchers and policymakers in the United States and around the world to chart national progress against international benchmarks and to identify strengths and weaknesses in countries' education systems.

What is the PISA Young Adult Follow-up Study and why is it important?

The PISA Young Adult Follow-up Study is a follow-up survey of U.S. PISA students who participated in PISA 2012. Students from PISA 2012 were asked to complete an online survey in the fall of 2015. The survey will ask students about their educational and work experiences and their use of computers and the Internet in their daily lives, and provide an opportunity for students to evaluate their reading and mathematics literacy skills. To measure reading and mathematics skills, the study will make use of the Education and Skills Online (ESO), a new online assessment instrument developed by the OECD and based on the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC).

The PISA Young Adult Follow-up Study is important because it will provide valuable information about how students' skills measured by PISA at age 15 relate to education and work experiences and key skills in young adulthood. This information will help us better understand how well prepared U.S. students are for the global economy. It will also inform discussions about college and career-readiness and successful transitions from high school to college and the workforce.

Who participates?

Students who participated in PISA in 2012 were asked to provide contact information for a follow up study. Those who did are being invited to participate in the PISA Young Adult Follow-up Study. The study is voluntary, but only students who participated in PISA 2012 may participate in this study. These former PISA participants are a unique source of this information, so it is important that everyone who is eligible participates.

What is the study timeline?

Spring 2014: PISA 2012 students who supplied contact information were contacted.

Winter 2015/2016: Some study participants participated in a field test to try out study procedures.

Spring 2016: Study participants took an online survey for the main study data collection.