- The Program for International Student Assessment measures academic progress across the world through a test administered to 15-year-olds
- Lynbrook will randomly choose 40 sophomores to take the test on April 28
- PISA originally faced threats of losing funding from the federal government, but will continue this year for its ninth round of testing
Lynbrook will participate in the Program for International Student Assessment, a test that measures the academic performance of 15-year-olds, on April 28. Forty sophomores will be randomly selected to take a 3-hour exam that assesses them in math, science and reading.
This year, PISA, which takes place every three years, will be conducted at Lynbrook for the first time. The program compares the results from over 81 participating nations to recognize gaps in the education systems and establish international standards. For example, countries like Japan and Germany have revamped their curricula to focus more on math and science after scoring low in these subjects on PISA. At the same time, PISA encouraged the United States to focus on early STEM education after assessment data revealed gaps in test scores between socioeconomic groups in 2009.
“International comparisons are used to rank countries and jolt some energy into countries that might not rank highly,” said José Eos Trinidad, assistant professor of education policy at the University of California, Berkeley, in an email. “They give a good benchmark of how each one is doing.”
While PISA’s results may influence national education plans, they will likely have minimal effect on Lynbrook. The test data may encourage federal governments to reform nationwide educational policies like teacher training and resource allocation, but individual school curricula are decided at a state or district level to cater to the school’s specific needs.
“The state is the one who provides Common Core standards and what to teach,” Principal Maria Jackson said. “PISA is more of an international study. I don’t expect to get anything back from them about how to change our curriculum.”
PISA is administered by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, a global organization that was founded in 1961 to “build stronger, cleaner and fairer societies.” While the test was originally canceled for 2025 after PISA informed Lynbrook administrators that it would be discontinued due to a lack of federal funding, they reaffirmed the program afterward.
The initial decision to shut down PISA could signal many more cuts to come to U.S. education. The current administration plans to slash over $1 trillion in government spending by the end of 2025, including the Department of Education. President Donald Trump has also introduced plans to defund over $450 million in university grants. Over 1,300 employees from the DOE have already resigned or been laid off, many of them part of data collection agencies that serve similar functions to PISA.
“Losing research data could mean we are unable to know how students are faring across states and how to best support students with varying levels of disadvantage,” Trinidad said.
Despite early uncertainty, over 6,000 students in the U.S. will take PISA this year. Students will receive $25 along with four volunteer hours with the DOE as a reward for participating. In addition, because data from PISA has recognized inequities in education systems in the past, many believe its continuation in the U.S. to be essential.
“I think PISA extends beyond Lynbrook,” junior Rohan Chaudhary said. “Districts are able to compare themselves to other districts to know what they are doing wrong, and it’ll help students who already don’t have access to a great education.”
