What preparations has the Minister made for the PISA 2022 assessments?
There is close liaison between Welsh Government and Pearson, the national PISA provider to ensure the best possible experience for learners in the sample. Having spoken to stakeholders from across the sector since 2018, Welsh Government is particularly mindful of the past challenges faced by Welsh medium and bilingual schools participating in PISA. We have worked closely with Pearson, supporting them to engage with a new translation company and the WJEC to translate and quality assure assessment materials. We have also negotiated the addition of a third language option to the Student Delivery System with a combination of Welsh and English as this will more accurately reflect the provision in bilingual schools. In previous PISA cycles pupils could only choose to do everything in Welsh or English.
Officials are working closely with the Regional Consortia to share resources to help schools support pupils who are unfamiliar with the PISA format, while aligning with purposes of the Curriculum for Wales. These resources are available to all schools in Wales via Hwb. System Leaders also provide logistical support and guidance to schools in administering the survey.