Research – National Assessment and Examinations Center

On Tuesday, the 16^th the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) published the results of PIRLS 2021 (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study).

In 2021, the number of countries participating in the study increased to 57. A total of 346,992 students worldwide took part in the international study. 5,637 students from 190 schools participated in PIRLS 2021 from Georgia.

The PIRLS 2021 study was conducted under different circumstances compared to previous cycles due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. A large number of students were switched to distance learning mode, therefore, the number of students in the classrooms of the schools selected for testing was less than the acceptable percentage of the reliability of the study. This is why, according to the decision of the IEA, in 14 countries (United States of America, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Ireland, Qatar, Latvia, Lithuania, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Northern Ireland, Croatia, Georgia), students wrote the test in the fall instead of the spring of 2021, and in 6 countries the test was conducted one year later. Therefore, a new stream of fourth-graders took part in the test in these countries.

Considering the mentioned circumstances, the IEA highly recommended not to compare the results of the countries that wrote the test in the fall with the results of the countries that completed the test in the spring.

During the testing period, the average age of students in Georgia was 5 months higher than the average age of students in most countries. A similar situation existed in 13 other countries, where, due to the age difference, it was difficult to compare with the previous cycles. PIRLS data indicated a substantial deterioration in achievement in the vast majority of participating countries.

It should be noted that Georgia is not in the list of countries where the average literacy score has decreased.

Along with the evaluation of the student’s achievements in literacy, the task of the research is to study the impact of school, teacher and family factors on the student’s literacy achievements and the formation of literacy skills. The impact of these factors on student achievement, the main findings and results of the research will be presented later in the form of a national research report.

At this stage, some general findings can be introduced:

Out of the 57 countries included in the study, only in 6 countries are boys able to have similar achievements in literacy as girls. In the remaining 51 countries, including Georgia, girls have better literacy achievements than boys. In none of the countries included in the study do boys have an advantage over girls. In Georgia, the difference between the achievements of students by gender is statistically significant and is maintained throughout the entire research cycle;
According to recent studies, a comparative analysis of urban and rural schools in Georgia shows the advantage of urban schools in the literacy achievement of students, although the 2021 study shows a reduction in the gap between rural and urban schools due to the improvement of rural school achievement. Improvements in rural school student outcomes were also seen in the 2019 Math and Science Achievement Scores (TIMSS 2019);
In the 2021 study, a statistically significant difference between the achievement of students in private and public schools remained. Private school students do better on literacy tasks.

PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study) is an international literacy study of fourth-grade students conducted by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) since 2001.

Georgia participated in the last four cycles (2006, 2011, 2016 and 2021). The research group of the National Assessment and Examinations Center is leading the PIRLS in Georgia. The research aims to evaluate the reading skills of 9-10-year-old (fourth-grade) students and determine the impact of such contextual factors as the learning environment, parental involvement, school management, teacher qualifications, information and communication technologies, etc., on the student’s learning process.

PIRLS focuses on the reading goals and comprehension processes of fiction and informational texts. Half of the PIRLS assessment focuses on acquiring literary expertise, and the other half focuses on acquiring and using information.

More on PIRLS 2021 can be explored in English at the link.

On 8^th of December the National Assessment and Examinations Center published the results of Georgia within the framework of an international survey on Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2019.

Today, an international presentation of the TIMSS 2019 report was held by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris. The event, which was attended by education professionals and accredited journalists from all over the world, covered the main findings and challenges of the research. Sophio Gorgodze, the Director of the National Assessment and Examinations Center also participated in the following discussion.

Conducted every four years since 1995, TIMSS has been a valuable tool for monitoring international trends in mathematics and science achievement at the fourth and eighth grades. Georgia was first involved in 2007 and since then has participated in TIMSS 2011, 2015 and 2019. Georgia was represented by both 4th and 8th grades. The study was administered by the National Assessment and Examinations Center.

Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) enables participating countries assess their education system, existing teaching practices, and identify obstacles to teaching mathematics and science. The study evaluates the achievement dynamics of the same educational level student compared to previous cycles, and also shows whether student achievement has changed over the years at different stages of learning process in the country (primary and lower secondary).

64 countries participated in TIMSS 2019. 58 countries and 6 regions participated in fourth grade assessment, and 39 countries and 7 regions participated in eighth grade assessment.

From 2019, TIMSS switched to electronic assessment (e-TIMSS). Before stepping towards e-Assessment Georgia conducted a transitional Bridge research. The research fieldwork was conducted from April 24 to May 29, 2019. 226 schools from Tbilisi and different regions of the country participated in the TIMSS 2019 cycle throughout Georgia. A total of 154 fourth (6,002 students) and 145 eighth graders (5,698 students) participated.

Specially designed questionnaires were also completed by school principals, teachers and parents / guardians of fourth graders.

The international average score is 500.

The results of Georgia in 2019:

Mathematics (4th grade) – 482 points;

Mathematics (8th grade) – 461;

Natural Sciences (4th grade) – 454;

Natural Sciences (8th grade) – 447.

The results of the research revealed that in the 2019, Georgian fourth-graders significantly improved their achievements in mathematics. Georgia was also named among the five countries that have increased the most compared to 2015.

“These results of the study show the progress as well as the current challenges. Advancement is really obvious. It is clear that the results of the fourth graders have improved in mathematics, and in one direction (direction-numbers) for the first time since 2007 exceeded the international average. Achievements in eighth grade mathematics and science at both levels remain a challenge, with only minor improvements that are not statistically significant; However, if we look at the data in rural and urban contexts, it appears that rural fourth-graders have significantly improved their results in natural science. Also, according to the available data, the differences in the achievement between rural and urban schools are decreasing and almost eliminated. ”
Sophia Gorgodze, the Director of the National Assessment and Examinations Center.

The initial report and presentation of Georgia can be found here.

In addition, for the first time, interested parties will have an opportunity to visit the TIMSS website and receive information about the main data of the 2019 survey in Georgian.