The OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), created in 1997, represents a commitment by the governments of OECD and partner countries to monitor the outcomes of education systems, in terms of student achievement, within a common, internationally agreed framework. PISA is a collaborative effort, bringing together scientific expertise from the participating countries/economies and steered jointly by their governments on the basis of shared policy interests. Experts from participating countries also serve on working groups that are charged with linking the PISA policy objectives with the best available substantive and technical expertise in the field of internationally comparable assessments. Through involvement in these expert groups, countries ensure that the PISA assessment instruments are internationally valid and take into account the cultural and curricular context of the PISA-participating countries and economies.

This Chapter provides an overview of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and explains how the PISA for Development (PISA-D) project was developed in response to a review of the experience of middle-income countries in PISA. It describes what PISA-D adds to PISA, including enhancements to the cognitive test and contextual questionnaires, an assessment of the out-of-school population, and support for building the capacity of participating countries to implement international large-scale assessments and use assessment results to support evidence-based policy making. The Chapter also discusses how PISA-D contributes to the monitoring and achievement of the Education Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), which emphasises quality and equity of learning outcomes for children, young people and adults.

This Chapter defines "reading literacy" as assessed in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the extensions to the PISA reading framework that have been designed for the PISA for Development (PISA-D) project. It describes the processes involved in reading and the type of texts and response formats used in the PISA-D reading assessment and provides several sample items. The Chapter also discusses how student performance in reading is measured and reported.

This chapter defines "mathematical literacy" as assessed in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the extensions to the PISA mathematics framework that have been designed for the PISA for Development (PISA-D) project. It explains the processes, content knowledge and contexts reflected in PISA-D's mathematics problems, and provides several sample items. The chapter also discusses how student performance in mathematics is measured and reported.

This Chapter defines "scientific literacy" as assessed in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the extensions to the PISA science framework that have been designed for the PISA for Development (PISA-D) project. It describes the types of contexts, knowledge and competencies reflected in PISA-D's science problems, and provides several sample items. The Chapter also discusses how student performance in science is measured and reported.

This Chapter describes the framework and core content for the PISA for Development (PISA-D) contextual questionnaires, for both the schoolbased assessment and the out-of-school assessment. The Chapter presents the content and aims of the instruments for students who were in school and in Grade 7 or higher at the time of the assessment; who were in school but in a grade lower than Grade 7; and also for youths who were out of school. The Chapter also describes the teacher and school questionnaires that are used for the school-based assessment and the instruments used for the out-of-school population: a questionnaire for the parents or the person most knowledgeable about the youths, and a household observation questionnaire.

Annex A presents the contextual questionnaires used in PISA for Development. These are the school questionnaire distributed to school principals; the student questionnaire distributed to all participating students; the teacher questionnaire distributed to school teachers; the out-of-school youth questionnaire administered to all participating out-of-school 14-16 year-olds; the parent questionnaire distributed to the parent, or person most knowledgeable, of the out-of-school youth; and the household observation questionnaire distributed to the interviewers conducting the out-of-school assessment.

Annex B lists the experts and support staff involved in developing the PISA for Development framework for the cognitive instruments and the background questionnaires.