As the pandemic continues to cause worldwide disruptions, we share a summary of how IEA studies have progressed in recent months, including IEA's COVID-19 studies (REDS and KWiK) and other studies that IEA are a part of. Further highlights about IEA's recent activities can be found in our April online newsletter, IEA Updates. You can subscribe here to receive our future newsletter updates.
IEA Study Updates | April 2021
BEAM
The project framework and item development, led by NFER, continued for the Botswana Educational Achievement Monitor (BEAM). The pilot test will be conducted in schools during April. Preparations for the sampling workshop in June and the test administration workshop in July are ongoing.
ICCS 2022
Field testing for the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) 2022 has been completed in a number of countries, while other countries experience delays due to schools being closed or heavy restrictions preventing access by national centers. A “check-in” meeting with countries took place in April to provide updates on the status of the field trial, implementation issues related to the COVID-19 disruption and plans for the implementation of the main survey.
ICILS 2023
In February, International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS) data were officially recognized by the European Council and EU Member States to support strategic priorities towards the European Education Area and beyond (2021-2030). A record number of countries continue to show interest in the latest study cycle, with more than 30 countries currently considering participation.
KWiK
In early March, participating school principals of the German study, KWiK (Continuity and Change in Schools in Times of Crisis), received a brochure presenting the first findings from the data. The study shows that schools are coping well with the challenges posed by the pandemic. However, it also shows that students with a migration background, special educational needs, or social disadvantage require additional support.
National Studies
In Germany, the work on important national studies has entered its peak phase. Comprehensive preparations were finalized, numerous instruments were printed, testing software has been copied to many laptops, test administrators have been trained, and finally, testing sessions with schools have been scheduled. This took place in the backdrop of increasing infection rates, impending school closures in some regions, and many school lessons running with reduced or alternating student groups. Nevertheless, in the last two weeks, some tests associated to the study INSIDE and the PIRLS/IGLU main survey were able to be conducted, and we hope that many further ones will follow.
PIRLS 2021
Data collection for the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2021 is currently taking place in a number of countries. Some of these are encountering disruptions as a result of the pandemic. During the NRC meeting in March, the International Study Center at Boston College reminded countries to keep in touch with any local developments so that the international study center can react and advise national centers accordingly.
REDS
Administration from the Responses to Educational Disruption Survey (REDS) has been completed in some first and second-wave countries, and others are currently in the field. Data entry and verification also began in April and is expected to continue through spring.
Rosetta Stone
IEA Rosetta Stone moved forward as data from both PASEC and the Rosetta linkage instruments were entered in-country and sent to the IEA for processing. IEA harmonized the data and created usable datasets following the IEA conventions, which were shared with the TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center at Boston College, who will perform the data linkage steps. More details about recent developments can be found here.
TALIS 2024
Starting in late 2020, the international research consortium for the OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2024 has begun important inception work under IEA’s auspices. With a growing number of participating countries and most optional modules confirmed, the research teams at IEA, ACER, AIR, and RAND Europe developed a concept paper, which serves as a strategic precursor to the conceptual and assessment frameworks. Currently, reflections from stakeholders and the education foresight community are being collected to further advance the conceptual and instrument development for the initial piloting in early 2022.
TIMSS 2023
The first NRC meeting for the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2023 took place virtually in February. It included IEA's first-ever virtual item writing workshop, which ran smoothly. Completing the transition that was started with eTIMSS in 2019, TIMSS 2023 is intended as a digital assessment. However, discussions are ongoing with countries unable to participate in the digital assessment in order to find a viable alternative.
21CS MAP
We are currently in discussions with interested countries of IEA's 21st Century Skills Mapping study (21CS MAP) to explore options for how best to progress with the study, and more information will be shared in due course.