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Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) – Overview

Saved on March 14, 2011

The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a system of international assessments that focuses on 15-year-olds’ capabilities in reading literacy, mathematics literacy, and science literacy. PISA also includes measures of general or cross-curricular competencies such as problem solving. PISA emphasizes functional skills that students have acquired as they near the end of compulsory schooling. PISA is coordinated by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), an intergovernmental organization of industrialized countries. Begun in 2000, PISA is administered every 3 years. Each administration includes assessments of all three subjects, but assesses one of the subjects in depth. The most recent administration was in 2009 and focused on reading literacy.

Setting Students’ Minds on Fire – Commentary – The Chronicle of Higher Education

Saved on March 10, 2011

Students have been influenced in unexpected ways. Paul Fessler, a professor of history at Dordt College, in Iowa, devoted the last month of his Western-civilization class to a game set amid the French Revolution. The sessions were heated and involved, and it soon became clear that the semester would end before several key issues could be resolved. Fessler offered to extend the class. Instead students volunteered to come 30 minutes early for the remainder of the semester. Fessler was floored; his class started at 8 a.m.

Learning Without Boundaries

Saved on March 10, 2011

Students in Pulaski, Newport News, Arlington, and Henry are using instructional materials developed by Pearson for this project. The Pearson pilot runs from November 1, 2010, to February 4, 2011, and aims to engage students, help them master core content, and personalize learning. It features an e-text and supporting apps delivered via the iPad. An engagement app provides gaming activities connected to Virginia’s Essential Questions. The assessment app provides quick study and vocabulary review and uses questions based on SOL test data. The app scores student performance and offers a personalized recommendation for extension or review based on the student’s performance.