Maryland officials are considering giving a sampling of students an international test next fall to gauge how well the state's public schools are preparing students to compete with others in the world.
The test being most closely scrutinized received a critical evaluation from the Brookings Institution recently because it is not geared to testing students on the material they learned in school, but rather on their general knowledge.
The Programme for International Student Assessment, known as PISA, was last given in 2006 in 57 countries, including the United States, and is scheduled to be given again this fall. While some Maryland students have taken the test in years past, the numbers were so small that the state got no statewide data. The United States ranked 29th out of 57 countries on the science portion and 35th in math.
National education groups and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan have made international testing a focus of interest, particularly as the patchwork quilt of varying state standards has come under increasing criticism.
Gov. Martin O'Malley recently told the state school board that he wanted it to consider "international benchmarking" as one way to compete for federal stimulus funds. State leaders hope the tests, which cost $450 per student, could be paid for in part with stimulus money.
Last week, the Maryland State Board of Education asked state Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick to look into testing as many as 2,000 students throughout the state, including a sample of students representing different subgroups such as minority and special education students as well as those from rural and urban areas.
There are two tests that might be used: PISA and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study. TIMSS has been given in up to 48 countries every four years since 1995 and is designed to test skills taught primarily in schools. The U.S. has taken part since the outset. TIMSS is given to fourth- and eighth-graders; PISA is given not by grade but to 15-year-olds.
School board member Blair G. Ewing favors using PISA, after extensive conversations he had in Paris in January with representatives of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, which puts out the test.
