Measuring Learner Outcomes

This article describes the work to develop information on learner outcomes being undertaken through the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) International Indicators of Education Systems (INES) Project. It first sets the context for this work, describing the increasing interest in many countries in comparative assessments and the use of performance data to inform education policy. The article then describes early development work on learner outcomes, including the establishment of technical quality standards for the presentation of data; development of a data strategy to collect regular and policy-relevant information on learner outcomes; and recent work to explore new areas for measurement and to expand the range of indicators on learner outcomes. In doing so, it gives particular attention to the development of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and details initial findings on students' overall performance in reading literacy and on the variation between and within schools in reading literacy.