Monitoring Student Progress in Reading
Joining International Large Scale Educational Surveys
In addition to the general monitoring of child attainment and teacher effectiveness, the Macao SAR government has been encouraging schools to take part in international large scale educational surveys. Since 2003, the government has participated in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) organized by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). PISA is a worldwide large scale assessment held every three years to evaluate the reading, mathematics, and science literacy of 15-year-old students. Macao has participated in the testing for five cycles (2003, 2006, 2009, 2012, and 2015). In PISA 2015, Macao students’ reading literacy performance was found to have improved considerably.30,31
Macao also participated in the 2016 cycle of the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) organized by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). Some 4,059 fourth grade students and their parents, language teachers, and school principals took part in the 2016 assessment questionnaires. The outcomes of PIRLS questionnaires provide participating bodies with valuable information that may help the countries or regions monitor and evaluate the impact of their reading literacy education endeavors.
In addition to participating in international surveys, in-depth internal evaluation by schools and evaluation by external entities also can effectively monitor student learning progress. The integrated evaluation of schools organized by the Education and Youth Affairs Bureau (Direcção dos Serviços de Educação e Juventude, or DSEJ) involves a panel of internal staff and external reviewers who review school documentation and observe classes to provide the schools with comments for improvement and development to ensure school education quality.