PISA 2018 Assessment and Analytical Framework
This report presents the conceptual foundations of the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), now in its seventh cycle of comprehensive and rigorous international surveys of student knowledge, skills and well-being. Like previous cycles, the 2018 assessment covered reading, mathematics and science, with the major focus this cycle on reading literacy, plus an evaluation of students’ global competence – their ability to understand and appreciate the perspectives and world views of others. Financial literacy was also offered as an optional assessment.
The framework also includes the questionnaires distributed to students and school principals used to elicit information about student backgrounds and the school learning environment, as well as some questionnaires distributed to parents and teachers to assess factors associated with student outcomes. Students in some countries also completed further questionnaires on their educational trajectory, familiarity with information and communications technology, and well-being.
PISA 2018 Well-being Framework
This section presents the theoretical framework for the way in which the 2018 cycle of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) assesses student well-being. PISA was the first large-scale study to examine student well-being in its 2015 cycle. This framework discusses potential objective and subjective indicators of student well-being, grounding them in previous attempts from the literature. It also distinguishes between various dimensions of well-being, including life as a whole, self-related well-being, school-related well-being, and well-being out of school. Potential measurement issues are also presented. Potential composite indicators, combining responses to various questions into a single indicator, are suggested at the end.