In recent decades, large-scale assessments in Ireland have revealed consistent trends, phases of change, and some surprises. This brief explores how data from large-scale assessments informed Ireland's "National Literacy and Numeracy Strategy 2011-2020," particularly regarding priorities, target-setting, and monitoring. It also examines…

In this paper, six mathematics curriculum changes in Iran will be reviewed, spanning from 1900 until the present time. At first, change forces, barriers, and the main features of each curriculum reform will be represented. The first five curriculum changes are described briefly and the sixth and most recent curriculum reform will be elaborated. In…

As we move further into the digital age, the acquisition of digital literacy (DL) and computational thinking (CT) skills is emerging internationally as an essential goal for students in contemporary school curricula. As the world becomes more uncertain and volatile due to impacts of artificial intelligence (AI), international unrest, climate…

Science academic achievement is a key construct for examining students' science learning outcomes. While international comparative assessments like TIMSS and PISA have shown high science achievement of Korean middle school students, there is a lack of comprehensive investigation of factors influencing the achievement using domestic data.…

Students' socioeconomic status (SES) is not only directly related to mathematics achievement but also indirectly related to mathematics achievement through their unequal opportunity to learn (OTL). Despite a plethora of studies about how mathematics achievement is associated with SES and OTL, few systematic studies have examined the differential…

The science curriculum to age 16 should be judged on how well it meets the needs of students who progress to A-level science courses and those (a larger number) who do not. To address the diversity of students' interests and aspirations, we need a clear view of the purposes of science education rooted in a view of the purposes of education itself.…

International surveys have served as agents of change for the introduction of reforms in curricula worldwide. The Israeli Ministry of Education set a goal of raising Israel's ranking in international surveys so that Israel will be among the 10 leading countries in the Program for International Student Assessment and Trends in International…

Jordan has participated in international large-scale assessments (LSAs) since 1991 and in most of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Studies (TIMSS) as well as the Programme for International Student Assessments (PISA). After a short description of education system and policy-making context in the country, this article provides an…

International student assessments are used to measure the education system quality in many countries including the United Arab Emirates (UAE). However, student performances in these exams are influenced by a complex array of factors. This study collected interview data from six central officials, three school principals and vice principals, and 12…

The influences on governments for policy changes in schools range across many agencies, including the political party in power. When policies change, the sources of these influences are not always clear. The project whose work is presented in this special issue examines what these changes look like in terms of the differences in assessment tasks…

Singapore's Education System has evolved over time and so has Mathematics Education in Singapore. The present day School Mathematics Curricula can best be described as one that caters for the needs of every child in school. It is based on a framework that has mathematical problem solving as its primary focus. The developments from 1946 to 2012…

We set out to address the question--what does it mean for educational knowledge to be 'powerful'? We compare the Anglo tradition of curriculum studies with the "Didaktik" tradition through the lens of an analysis of curriculum structure in postgraduate courses in South African universities rooted in either the Anglo or…

The purpose of this study is to comparatively investigate the science teaching curricula in Turkey, which have undergone changes four times since the millennium. For this purpose, we carried out a technical and taxonomic examination of the learning outcomes listed in the science curricula that were introduced in 2000, 2005, 2013, and 2017…

This study aimed to examine and track the transformations in the mathematics intended curriculum during the latest reform in China from a neutral and objective perspective. Following the document analysis used in TIMSS (the Third International Mathematics and Science Study), the results indicated that a more modern system of mathematics knowledge…

Since the 1990s, Chile has participated in all major international large-scale assessment studies (ILSAs) of the IEA and OECD, as well as the regional ones conducted by UNESCO in Latin America, after it had been involved in the very first international Science Study in 1970-1971. This article examines the various ways in which these studies have…