Student composition in the PISA assessments: Evidence from Brazil

•Changes in the PISA eligibility is correlated with an artificial improvement in the Brazil national average performance.•With a correction to the distribution of students per grade in PISA, there is a more modest increase in Math.•The observed change in the PISA eligibility does not seems to be dri...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of educational development 2020-11, Vol.79, p.102299, Article 102299
Main Authors: Gomes, Matheus, Hirata, Guilherme, Oliveira, João Batista Araujo e
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Brazil
PISA
Student eligibility
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Summary:•Changes in the PISA eligibility is correlated with an artificial improvement in the Brazil national average performance.•With a correction to the distribution of students per grade in PISA, there is a more modest increase in Math.•The observed change in the PISA eligibility does not seems to be driven by distinct results across school type.•Controlling the sample to show the same distribution in each state, results in a reordering of states and worse math scores. PISA is one of the most widely used instruments to assess student performance in the world. This paper investigates how changes in testing dates and students’ dates of birth (eligibility) between 2000 and 2018 have affected results in Brazil. Controlling for changes in students’ grade distribution over time, we show that changes in grade composition are correlated with increases in average score. We estimate that about 60 % of improvements in math are unrelated to student improvement. Since changes in testing date and eligibility are unrelated to the school system, performance increases over time might not be a result of a country’s educational policy.
ISSN:0738-0593
1873-4871
DOI:10.1016/j.ijedudev.2020.102299