Large scale assessments; NAEP; PISA; TIMSS
Large-scale assessments are focused on entire education systems and lead to a better understanding of teaching and learning as well as the factors that contribute to constrain or promote achievement. Large-scale assessments provide a feedback to policy makers, researchers, and practitioners who are interested in enhancing educational quality being informed about structures and processes across the various level of education system that limit students’ learning acquisition (Greaney and Kellaghan 2008). Their role consists in monitoring trends in achievement over time. The results of a national/international assessment can help identify the magnitude and the influence of various factors which can be handled to provide a better practice in the classroom and to an efficient distribution of resources. The data are usually collected by tests and questionnaires and refer to the students’ achievement in the context of their home, classroom,...