GEMS Education partners with OECD on student assessment programme

GEMS Education has partnered with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to support the launch of a new programme to improve education assessment and strategies in low- and middle-income countries.

The new assessment tool, PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) for Development, or PISA-D, was developed by the OECD and its partners to enable greater PISA participation by low-income and middle-income countries in support of the United Nation's Education 2030 Project.

PISA is an international survey conducted every three years, which evaluates education systems worldwide by testing 15-year-old students in science, reading and mathematics.

The project is currently being piloted in eight countries, including Cambodia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, Senegal and Zambia.

GEMS Education will serve as an advisor to OECD as part of The Education 2030 Project, a multi-year collaboration of between countries to advance the development of modern education systems. GEMS Education will also donate Windows 1:1 devices to six of the pilot countries to enable researchers to test students' skills at home using a Windows-based application.

PISA-D plays a key role in achieving The Education 2030 Project's education goals to instil in students the values and skills necessary to be successful in the world by 2030.

Measured over 48 months, results from PISA-D will contribute to the OECD's support of education-related goals that focus on access and equity in the classroom by engaging more countries globally about adequate learning opportunities.

Results from PISA's 2015 round of testing in 72 countries and economies will be released on December 6. For the 2018 assessment, the first round of pilot testing will take place from the end of 2016 through March 2017.

Commenting on the partnership, GEMS Education founder and group chairman Sunny Varkey said: "At GEMS, global citizenship is an integral component of our educational program and a necessary first step toward preparing students to transform our world. We're proud to partner with the OECD in their mission to improve education system performance and establish better education policies, as it furthers our goal to enhance learning outcomes for children worldwide."