Understanding and Interpreting Education Data

Running head: UNDERSTANDING AND INTERPRETING EDUCATION DATA
UNDERSTANDING AND INTERPRETING EDUCATION DATA
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

UNDERSTANDING AND INTERPRETING EDUCATION DATA1
Introduction
There is substantial research that has been done on the value of education and its benefits
to both society and individuals. Empirical data from around the world supports the idea that
education plays a critical role in helping people come out of poverty, improve quality of life,
increase chances of employment, overall health of one’s family, and the gross development of
the economy ("Bringing Cultural Context and Self-Identity into Education: Brian Lozenski at
TEDxUMN", 2012). This is the reason why the international community is striving to set goals
in education and overcome in reaching them. The benefits of conducting large-scale assessment
data are – comparative and benchmarking purposes, improving a country’s overall educational
system through directive policy, enhancing access and equity, improving teaching and learning
practices, curriculum reforms, and utilizing strategies and indicators to monitor and evaluate
educational processes (Singh, 2007). This report speaks about the uses and limitations that exist
in large-scale educational data analysis and research. The reports are then critically analysed.
The data is obtained from assessment programs conducted internationally. This study will
concentrate on the following parts – Background, Methodology of the selected study, Critical
discussion of the results, Evaluation in relation to two different contexts with brief explanations,
and conclusion.
Background
The Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development or OECD organizes a
triennial survey on 15-year-old students from countries across the world known as Programme
for International Students Assessment or PISA. The tests assess the students approaching the end
of their compulsory education if they have attained the required skills and knowledge necessary

UNDERSTANDING AND INTERPRETING EDUCATION DATA2
to participate in modern society. The focus of the studies are on the general subjects taught in
school – science, mathematics, and reading. The tests involve collaborative problem-solving as a
minor assessment process ("Surveys and statistical programs - Programme for International
Student Assessment (PISA)", 2007). The 2015 survey also included a financial literacy
assessment of students, but it was kept optional The assessment fulfils multiple goals such as
determine whether students are able to reproduce the knowledge they gained and how well
students can deduct from that knowledge and come up with solutions in unfamiliar
environments. The tests conducted through PISA offer insights into educational policies and
practices and also helps monitor the trends in knowledge and skill axquisition by students across
different demographic groups in various countries ("PISA 2015 Results in Focus", 2018).
These results reveal what the topmost performing students and the most rapidly improving
nations are doing in order achieve such results. As a result, the policy makers from other
countries can ascertain the situation of their own country and prepare policies accordingly to
reach similar goals (Cohen, Manion, Morrison, 2012).
Methodology
The PISA tests are computer-based assessments, which last for two hours per student.
The items that are included in the test were multiple-choice questions and questions which
require students are required to produce their own answers and are asked on a real-life situation
based passage ("PISA 2015 Results in Focus", 2018). The total test time for all the test items for
science, mathematics, and reading and collaborative problem solving is 810 minutes. The
combination of subjects taken by each student is different ("PISA 2015 Results in Focus", 2018).

External research of data,
generalized and non-specific
(
(
Impact of knowledge, analysis
on national and global levels
Policies, programs, and
practices, allocation of funds
and strategies
Implementation in classroom,
participation of educational
organizations
Monitoring student
performance, measurement
against standards
UNDERSTANDING AND INTERPRETING EDUCATION DATA3
Critical analysis
The analysis of large scale educational data follows the steps given below ("Large-Scale Studies
and the Birth of an Initiative", 2016).
Fig. 1: Procedural flowchart of data analysis and implementation
(As created by author)
In recent times, the view of the public towards educational systems and methods has
drastically changed, especially since the Second World War (Carey, 2012). The shift occurred in
the social and cultural role of academics. The confidence in academic practitioners decreased and