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).

You can find up-to-date information on the milestones in PISA 2025 here.

 

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: 

• At each participating school, all science teachers in Grade 9 and/or Grade 10, or in the first year of vocational training at vocational schools, as well as all English teachers are included.

• The approximately 260 principals of the participating schools.

• The parents of the students who take part in the assessment.

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 4 OECD partner countries.

PISA 2025 is already the ninth assessment cycle. Every three study rounds form one cycle, with one of the three competence areas serving as the main focus each time. The first cycle consisted of PISA 2000 (focus on reading), 2003 (mathematics), and 2006 (science).

With PISA 2015, the second cycle was completed, comprising PISA 2009 (reading), 2012 (mathematics), and 2015 (science).

The third PISA cycle began with the 2018 study (reading), continued with PISA 2022 (mathematics), and is now being carried forward with PISA 2025, which again focuses on science.

In PISA 2025, scientific literacy is the main focus for the third time (after 2006 and 2015). As in every PISA cycle, in addition to scientifical literacy, the mathematical literacy and reading literacy of fifteen-year-old students are also assessed.

Scientific literacy in the PISA study is defined as young people’s ability to engage in reasoned discourse about science, sustainability, and technology, and to draw conclusions from this for informed action. As in PISA 2006 and PISA 2015, the tasks in PISA 2025 cover relevant concepts from physics, chemistry, biology, and the earth sciences.

In addition, PISA 2025 includes aspects of “Agency in the Anthropocene”, where young people are expected to use their scientific literacy to engage with environmental problems and to act in ways that help shape a more resilient future in a world increasingly influenced by human activity.

In addition, PISA 2025 will, for the first time, assess learning in the digital world as an innovative domain. This focuses on students’ ability to actively shape and manage their own learning in the digital age. In a simulated digital learning environment, students are presented with problems that they are asked to solve using digital tools. They receive feedback that is adapted to their individual learning progress.

Students are expected to monitor and evaluate their own progress in the process.

In PISA 2025, foreign language competence (Foreign Language Assessment) is also assessed as an additional domain. This focuses on the key language skills needed for studying and working in a globalised world. The main emphasis is on English skills. The assessment concentrates on three competencies: reading, speaking, and listening.

PISA also collects information on the conditions under which students grow up, live, and learn. These so-called context factors include, among other things, information about students’ social background, the school climate, classroom practices, as well as students’ attitudes and interests. To capture these aspects, not only the students but also their parents, teachers, and school principals complete questionnaires.

All tests (for students) and surveys (for students, teachers, and school principals) are conducted online via a secure server only.

The parent questionnaire is the only paper-based instrument and is given to the students to take home after the test session.

At schools whose computers do not meet the technical requirements, IEA provides its own laptops for the assessment.

(i) Student questionnaire
Students are asked about their learning behaviour and their experiences in science subjects, and they report how they perceive their everyday school life. In addition, information on their social background is collected in order to compare students within Germany as well as with students from other countries.

(ii) Parent questionnaire
Parents provide information about the students’ home environment in general and specifically with regard to science – for example, what kind of support they give their child in science subjects or how important they consider science to be for their child’s future career. They also evaluate their cooperation with the school.

(iii) Teacher questionnaire
Teachers provide assessments of their teaching, the organisation of their lessons, and their collaboration with colleagues and school principals. They also report on their participation in professional development activities and their use of digital media in the classroom.
Teachers who teach a science subject (physics, chemistry, biology) are additionally asked subject-specific questions about that particular discipline.

(iv) School questionnaire
School principals provide information on the school’s overall conditions (e.g. size, school type) and the resources available (e.g. teaching staff, computer equipment). They also report on specific topics such as career guidance and orientation.

The schools taking part in PISA 2025 are selected at random. Within these selected schools, the participating students are then also chosen randomly. Worldwide, all samples are drawn in such a way that they are representative of the 15-year-olds in each country who are enrolled in school (but, for example, not representative at the level of individual German federal states). If the response rate in a country falls below a certain threshold, this is indicated in the report.

In Germany, only those students are eligible to participate in PISA who have attended school here for at least one year and who have sufficient knowledge of German.

PISA is not designed to examine how well teachers have covered the curriculum or to test knowledge in specific school subjects. Instead, it aims to assess the fundamental competencies that students are expected to have acquired by the end of compulsory schooling. These core skills are defined in a way that applies across different cultures.

Students’ competencies are not measured using single test questions, but through many individual items. These items vary in difficulty, allowing researchers to determine up to which level of difficulty students are able to solve tasks.

The items are carefully developed by international experts in each content area. All test questions are tested in practice through a multi-stage procedure before being selected for use in PISA. The correct translation of the test questions into each participating country’s language is also reviewed internationally.

In a preliminary test around one year before the main study (the so-called field test), it is examined whether the tasks are equally suitable for young people in all participating countries and whether the answers to these test questions are therefore comparable across countries. Only such test questions are used in the main study.

You can find concrete test questions here.

This approach has the advantage that the effects of educational processes and systems can be compared internationally for the same age and thus for a comparable period of time.

In addition, in many countries the age of 15 marks the end of compulsory schooling or full-time education, which makes this age group of particular interest.

The domains that are examined must be internationally comparable in terms of students’ learning opportunities. This is generally more difficult to ensure for subjects such as history or social studies than for mathematics or science.

In addition, the educational outcomes in these domains must be measurable using test instruments that allow for meaningful assessment, reliable scoring, and sound interpretation.

Mathematics, science, and reading are also regarded as fundamental for being able to participate in society and for being equipped for lifelong learning.

In addition, each PISA cycle includes another competence that is important for lifelong learning. These innovative domains are newly developed for each cycle.

In 2003, this was problem solving; in 2012, complex problem solving; in 2015, collaborative problem solving; in 2018, global competence (Germany did not take part in this assessment); in 2022, creative thinking; and in 2025, it will be learning in the digital world.

One of PISA’s main objectives is to support countries in making informed decisions about their education policies. Conducting the study every four years provides participating countries with timely information, data, and analyses to monitor the impact of their policy decisions and programs. At the same time, more frequent assessments would not allow enough time to implement reforms and observe their effects.

Note: Until 2025, PISA was carried out every three years. After 2025, the next main study will take place in 2029.

No. The PISA sample is representative of fifteen-year-old students attending school in Germany. The study therefore refers to Germany as a whole and does not provide results for individual federal states.

The IQB Education Trend conducted by the Institute for Quality Development in Education (IQB), which is based on the content framework of the national educational standards, does allow for comparisons between the federal states. You can find further information on the IQB Educational Trend here. 

No. The processing of the data and the published results are based on aggregated data. The results can therefore no longer be linked to individual people. School staff never have access to the test materials of individual students.

The samples of schools, teachers, and students are drawn at random from all eligible individuals (i.e. teachers or students) in Germany and are representative of these groups (see “How are schools and students selected?”).

The test material is selected by international experts and evaluated according to the current state of research (see “How are the items evaluated?”). These measures allow for a scientifically sound and meaningful comparison of education systems.

The PISA results are based on the answers given by students in the German sample to the test items. Using appropriate psychometric methods, these responses are used to derive average competence scores for fifteen-year-old students in Germany.

At the individual level, these are represented as plausible values (PVs). In contrast to simple test scores (e.g. the number of points achieved in a classroom test), several plausible test scores are estimated for each student using complex models of item response theory (IRT). These scores are drawn from an individual distribution of competence, which is why they are called “plausible values”. This procedure ensures that measurement errors are appropriately considered when estimating competence.

Yes. Repeated measurements at four-year intervals make it possible to analyse changes in the performance of the education system over time.

Changes in test design and scaling (such as the introduction of computer-based testing from 2015 onwards) are taken into account in the analyses by using correction indices. This ensures that comparisons with previous assessment cycles are scientifically sound.

The aim of PISA is to provide participating countries at regular intervals with information on the fundamental competencies of their students at the end of compulsory schooling. With PISA, the OECD has created its own indicator system for educational outcomes. The study provides insights into the performance of education systems, highlights challenges, and points to potential areas for improvement. For example, following PISA 2000, considerable efforts were made to improve students’ competence levels in Germany.

The OECD examines which reforms and practices help countries achieve high performance or significant improvements in PISA. All countries that are planning reforms of their education systems can draw on these findings. However, the different circumstances in each country always need to be taken into account. There is no universal education model that fits all countries, and it is not possible to simply transfer an education system from one country to another.

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.

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.

Yes. The datasets, including the national extensions (such as the class-based sample), are available to interested researchers via the joint research data centre of the Centre for International Student Assessment (ZIB) and the IQB.