ICCS
The ICCS (International Civic and Citizenship Education Study) 2027 second National Research Coordinators (NRC) meeting—where countries discussed cognitive item development and questionnaire content—was held in Brussels, Belgium from 11–15 November 2024. Pilot data collection is currently underway, allowing for refinement of newly developed materials ahead of the field trial.
There is still time to enroll in the study, but the window closes soon. We encourage interested parties to contact Dr. Andrea Netten as soon as possible for further information or any questions.
ICILS
The ICILS (International Computer Information and Literacy Study) Technical Report will be released in May, following the successful release of the ICILS 2023 international results in November 2024 and the launch of the open-access International Database (IDB) in February 2025. The Technical Report release will mark the conclusion of the ICILS 2023 cycle, reflecting the dedication and commitment of participating countries in ensuring a successful study and the high quality of data.
Preparations for ICILS 2028 are underway, and the first NRC meeting took place from 05–07 March, in Hamburg, Germany. This meeting launched the fourth cycle and served as a platform for engaging discussions on content development and key areas of interest. Enrollment for ICILS 2028 is ongoing, and we encourage interested parties to reach out to Dr. Andrea Netten with any questions.
IEA extends its gratitude to the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture and the European Education and Culture Executive Agency for their valuable support in funding the participation of Erasmus+ countries in both ICCS and ICILS.
PIRLS
The PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study) 2026 Field Test is in progress, with several countries already underway in their data collection. The fourth NRC meeting is taking place online from 10–13 March 2025. The meeting will focus on scoring training for responses to the constructed-response items in the PIRLS 2026 Field Test. The results of the Field Test will be discussed at the fifth PIRLS NRC meeting along with preparations for the main survey.
TIMSS
Following the successful release of the TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study) 2023 international results in December 2024, the TIMSS 2023 open-access IDB and User Guide were published in February 2025. This marks the conclusion of the TIMSS 2023 cycle. We are thankful for the hard work and dedicated commitment of participating countries in ensuring the success of the study. Data collection for the TIMSS 2023 Longitudinal Study has concluded, and data processing is underway. We look forward to the public release of the results on 9 December 2025.
The first TIMSS 2027 NRC meeting took place from 12–13 February 2025 in Hamburg, Germany, officially launching the ninth cycle. The second NRC meeting, which will focus on content creation, is scheduled for 16–21 March 2025 in Belgrade, Serbia. Field Test preparations will be discussed at the third NRC meeting in July.
Enrollment for TIMSS 2027 is ongoing for a few more months. We encourage interested parties to reach out to Dr. Andrea Netten with any questions.
LaNA
The results of the LaNA (Literacy and Numeracy Assessment) 2023 Linking Study have been published. The report was released on Tuesday, 25 February in Dakar, Senegal, hosted in partnership with INEADE. The international report shares the results from all six LaNA participants: Burkina Faso, Egypt, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palestinian National Authority, and Senegal. The release can be found on the IEA LaNA page. Enrollment for future off-cycle LaNA linking studies is open, for more information on participation, please see the information package.
Evaluation of Startchancen-Programm
As part of the evaluation consortium for Germany's largest educational funding program, Startchancen, IEA is currently preparing the first data collection in collaboration with other consortium members. These include surveys of school principals at the 4,000 schools participating in the program nationwide, as well as student assessments and surveys in a sample of 300 of these schools. Data collection for the Startchancen-Programm, which is planned to span 10 years, will begin in the fourth quarter of 2025.
IELS
The second cycle of IELS (International Early Learning and Child Well-being Study) is in full swing, with nine participants administering their Main Study in the first half of the year. IEA will then work on data processing. There will be a final National Project Manager Meeting in November 2025 to discuss the results and reports for the release in March 2026.
IQB studies
IEA is conducting two studies on behalf of the IQB (Institute for Educational Progress). Both are aimed at piloting new test items and the IQB's own online testing system. While one pilot study is assessing skills in English and German for the ninth grade, the second study aims to standardize test items for basic skills in German and mathematics for second-grade students.
LSCE
IEA started the third phase of the UNICEF initiative LSCE (Life Skills and Citizenship Education) in 2024. The overarching aim of this study is to develop an assessment tool to measure 21st-century skills under the LSCE initiative in the Middle East and North Africa regions. IEA has provided the assessment strategy related to the field trial along with its sampling design. The assessment booklets and questionnaires were administered in October 2024, and the final statistical analysis and item selection were evaluated in January and were reported at the end of February 2025.
PIRLS/IGLU Germany
In preparation for the PIRLS Germany main survey 2026 (known as IGLU in Germany), the Field Trial is currently underway and is being conducted across five federal states in Germany. This Field Trial will pilot new items and focus on administering the study online, utilizing both school-provided and externally-supplied equipment.
PISA 2025 Main Survey
In April/May 2025, Germany will conduct its first entirely online PISA cycle, testing approximately 13,500 students in science, reading, and mathematics, focusing on scientific literacy. Additionally, a sub-sample of 2,000 students will be assessed in foreign language literacy for the first time, including English writing tasks completed with and without AI.
TALIS
In September, TALIS (Teaching and Learning International Survey) 2024 completed the main survey data collection successfully for all participants. The IEA International Study Center hosted an adjudication meeting with representatives from the OECD in November and December 2024. At the beginning of 2025, the Consortium presented at the Technical Advisory Group meeting in Paris, France, and conducted the fourth National Project Managers meeting with over 100 participants on three consecutive days. Currently, teams are preparing the TALIS 2024 Technical Report and User Guide, completing the scaling activities, and preparing the International Database analysis in-person workshop planned for early May 2025 in Hamburg, Germany.
IEA R&D Call 4 Awards
Following a rigorous review process, a short-list of Research and Development (R&D) proposals submitted in response to Call 4 was submitted to the Standing Committee. We are excited to announce that seven proposals have been chosen for funding this round! Results from these innovative proposals will help ensure that IEA remains at the forefront of research in international large-scale assessment