A total of 10,362 pupils, aged 15, from 321 educational units in Romania will participate in the main stage of PISA 2025 Study, to be administered by the Institute of Educational Sciences from May 12 to June 9.
According to a press release of the Ministry of Education and Research, the 321 educational units – secondary schools, high schools or vocational schools participating in the study are from both the urban and rural area, randomly selected through a standardized procedure, unique at international level (representative sample). Of the 10,362 pupils to be assessed, 1,477 (from 66 educational units) learn Hungarian (nationally representative sample for this population group).
Also participating are 2,015 teachers, of whom 1,430 science teachers (Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Geography), and 585 English language teachers from the participating educational units.
For the first time in Romania, PISA 2025 also assesses students’ English language proficiency in the Foreign Language Assessment (FLA) study, in which 2,149 students are set to participate.
Also for the first time in Romania, a series of additional questionnaires will be administered: the Science Teacher Questionnaire, the English Language Teacher Questionnaire and the Parent Questionnaire.
Assessment sessions for students last about 4 hours, of which: 15 minutes for the general introduction, 120 – 130 minutes are allocated to the administration of the cognitive test, organized in 2 sessions of 60 – 65 minutes each, with a short break in between, 15 minutes break, 45 – 50 minutes for the completion of the student questionnaire (students express their opinions about activities at school and outside school, as well as about some aspects of the quality of their life) and the ICT questionnaire.
„All assessment instruments are administered in digital format, except for the questionnaire administered to parents, which will be in paper format. At the level of each school unit, the tests will take place on a single day (in parallel and/or successive sessions) or on consecutive days, on dates agreed with the schools. The whole process is standardized, according to international methodologies, based on administration manuals,” says the source.
The data collected – the students’ responses to cognitive tests and questionnaires, as well as those of the targeted teachers – are entered directly into the PISA 2025 platform. Parents’ responses to the questionnaires are entered by National Center staff into a dedicated database provided by the PISA 2025 Consortium.
„The results are strictly confidential. No students and no schools are identified in international or national reports, as this study is not designed to provide individual test scores or questionnaires,” says the Ministry of Education and Research.
„Romania’s participation in PISA 2025, including the international options, aims both to obtain a detailed picture of the level of some of the fundamental competencies acquired by students and to increase the capacity of Romanian decision-makers to adopt and implement evidence-based education policies. The results obtained by Romanian students are the basis for designing appropriate interventions, as they refer not only to the level of students’ acquisition but also to the learning contexts. The participation in the PISA 2025 study contributes to the correlation of Romanian education with the evolution of internationally performing education systems,” maintain the representatives of the Ministry of Education and Research.
The data collected will form the basis of the analysis that will allow to understand the extent to which Romanian students are prepared for further studies and integration into the labor market.
