The 2015 PISA Tests

This spring, randomly selected 15 year old students in Prince Edward Island schools will be writing PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) tests.

PISA testing is administered independently in Canada by the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) and it is CMEC that selects which students at which schools will be writing the test. PISA testing is overseen internationally by the OECD, and there's an FAQ on its website that explains the basics of the testing.

The English Language School Board has been working on a strategy to prepare Island students for the PISA testing, and the week of March 23, 2015 the board will start publishing a weekly "PISA Question of the Week", a sample question that will allow students, parents and guardians to experience the style and approach of PISA testing together. 

Visit the Question of the Week page on the board website every Monday to see a new question and the answer to the previous week's.

The OECD itself has an online Try The Test feature on its website that allows a similar experience of PISA-style questions and answers.

Additional PISA test resources:

• The Council of Ministers of Education, Canada PISA information and previous test results
• OECD PISA information page, including international results from previous tests and detailed testing information

The PEI Home and School Federation was asked to provide the English Language School Board with feedback on the "PISA Support Plan"; board directors were canvassed last week and feedback was assembled and sent to the board.