International large-scale assessments: Origins, growth and why countries participate in PISA

This chapter describes the origins of international large-scale assessments, presents evidence regarding the worldwide growth in such assessments, and analyses the broad determinants of participation in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). It links PISA participation with countries’ economic status and their experience with national and other international large-scale assessments. The empirical analyses presented in the second section of this chapter use selected time-series data for over 200 countries/economies to empirically estimate the determinants of PISA participation. The third section examines country-by-country variations in PISA participation over time. The fourth section draws on interviews with various policy actors to explore the PISA experience of selected low- and middle-income case study countries. A final section draws conclusions about what factors contribute to a country’s decision to participate in PISA and implications for the expansion of PISA participation.