Crossing metrics: are PISA, national tests, and grades measuring the same?

[摘要] BackgroundUnderstanding the relationship between International Large-Scale Assessments such as PISA and national school achievement measures is important due to the potentially significant influence of PISA outcomes on national educational policy reforms. While PISA was developed to assess achievement based on the OECD’s literacy framework and is low-stakes for individual students, national tests and teacher-assigned grades measure students’ attainment relative to the national curriculum and carry higher stakes for students. This study used Swedish data to examine the interrelationships and latent structure of achievement measures from PISA, national tests, and school grades in the domains of reading, mathematics, and science.MethodsThe data came from the Swedish sample of PISA 2022 (N = 6072), which was linked to register data containing students’ final grades and national test results from Grade 9. We examined the intercorrelations among the observed measures and estimated a series of confirmatory factor analytic models, with the final model specified as a bifactor model with a multitrait-multimethod (MTMM) structure.ResultsThe association between PISA and school achievement measures was moderately strong, and the PISA domains themselves were highly intercorrelated. (r > 0.80). Further, results from the bifactor MTMM model indicate that grades and national tests differentiate similarly across subjects and show little method-specific variance. In contrast, PISA exhibits limited differentiation across subjects and substantial method-specific variance, suggesting that PISA captures achievement according to its own literacy-oriented framework rather than the subject-specific curricular learning reflected in national tests and grades.ConclusionsThe extent to which PISA, national tests and school grades capture socially relevant learning is a normative question that lies beyond the scope of this study. However, it is important for policymakers to recognize the differing characteristics of PISA and national school achievement measures when making educational policy decisions. While PISA provides a valuable benchmark for cross-national and trend analyses, its literacy-oriented approach and assessment design limit the extent to which subject-specific inferences can be drawn.

[发布日期] 2026-09-27

[关键词] Bifactor model;Multitrait-multimethod (MTMM);National tests;PISA;Student achievement;Teacher-assigned grades