How is PISA carried out at TUM?
The planning, implementation, and analysis of the PISA study in Germany are coordinated by the ZIB at TUM. We have summarized the key information for you in this video (Video available in German only).
Who takes part in the PISA 2025 study?
For PISA, 15-year-old students are selected to participate, meaning the sample is based on age rather than on specific grades or school types. For PISA 2025, this includes around 7,000 students in Germany attending approximately 260 secondary schools.
All types of schools are represented: grammar schools (Gymnasien), intermediate schools (Realschulen), lower secondary schools (Hauptschulen), schools with multiple educational tracks, comprehensive schools, special and support schools, as well as vocational schools.
In addition, Germany is taking part in the international option of class-based testing. For this, a further 18 students from Grade 9 are selected for testing in each participating school (with the exception of vocational schools). This includes around 3,600 students.
In total, approximately 10,600 fifteen-year-olds in Germany are expected to take part in the study.
Additional samples:
How many countries are taking part in PISA 2025?
Around 90 countries worldwide are participating in PISA, including all OECD member states.
The first PISA study (PISA 2000) began with 28 OECD member states and four OECD partner countries.
How is the participant's data protected?
The confidential handling of your data is very important to us.
The names and addresses of participating schools or students are not known to the PISA team in Munich and cannot be disclosed. All data are treated with strict confidentiality: the survey is conducted in compliance with the GDPR, and the data are anonymised at the end of the process.
The list of names of the selected students never leaves the school. It is stored securely on site and destroyed once data collection has been completed.
The processing of the data and the published results are based on aggregated information. This means that the findings cannot be traced back to any individual person.
All test materials are sent by the test administrators directly to IEA Hamburg immediately after the tests are completed, where the data are processed. School staff therefore never have access to the test materials.
The procedure is reviewed and approved by the data protection officers of the German federal states in each survey cycle.
How is the PISA study funded?
In Germany, the PISA study is funded on the one hand by the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany (KMK), and on the other hand by the Federal Ministry for Education, Family, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMBFSFJ). The KMK funds the national researchers, while the BMBFSFJ contributes financially to the international costs of the OECD.