ERIC Number: EJ882314
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Jun
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1571-0068
EISSN: N/A
From PISA to Educational Standards: The Impact of Large-Scale Assessments on Science Education in Germany
Neumann, Knut; Fischer, Hans E.; Kauertz, Alexander
International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, v8 n3 p545-563 Jun 2010
The German education system does not traditionally rely on standardized testing. However, when the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) study revealed an average performance of German students compared to other participating countries, a particular proportion of low-performing students, and remarkable disparities between the federal states, German policy makers decided for a major reform of the education system. A core piece of this reform was the introduction of National Education Standards. For science education, these standards were heavily influenced by the PISA results and its underlying framework. That is, with the standards, a paradigm shift took place from the German notion of "Bildung" towards the Anglo-American notion of "literacy." With the introduction of these standards, a new field of empirical educational research was created: research on models of scientific literacy or competency models as a basis of benchmarking the standards. This article describes the German education system before PISA, summarizes the major findings from PISA, and describes how these findings informed the formulation of the performance standards for science education. It also details the measures undertaken to benchmark these standards. Finally, it provides insight into the issues with developing and benchmarking performance standards and points out future areas of research on evidence-based decision making in educational policy.
Descriptors: Educational Research, Standardized Tests, Educational Change, Foreign Countries, Scientific Literacy, Benchmarking, German, Educational Policy, Science Education, Measurement, Models, Standards, Decision Making
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Germany
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Program for International Student Assessment
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A