Mandate: - Resolution of the Council approved under written procedure on 30 July 2021 [C(2021)88, Annex and C/M(2021)17, Item 214]
Resolution of the Council [C(2021)88, Annex and C/M(2021)17, Item 214]
DRAFT resolution OF THE COUNCIL RENEWING AND REVISING THE PROGRAMME for international student assessment (pisa)
“THE COUNCIL,
Having regard to the Convention on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development of 14 December 1960;
Having regard to the Rules of Procedure of the Organisation;
Having regard to the Financial Regulations of the Organisation;
Having regard to the Decision of the Council of 26 September 1997 to establish a Decentralised Programme for Producing Indicators on Student Achievement on a Regular Basis [C(97)176/FINAL], now referred to as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), last renewed by Council on 16 November 2016 [C(2016)92];
Having regard to the proposed renewal of the Programme for International Student Assessment and the mandate of its Governing Board [C(2021)88];
Considering that Members and Participants participating in the Programme for International Student Assessment wish to pursue their co-operation;
DECIDES:
A. The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is hereby renewed as a Part II Programme and revised as follows:
I. Mission and objectives
1. The work of PISA reflects and complements the priorities of the OECD in promoting sustainable development and social cohesion through good governance. The programme contributes to supporting participating Members and Partners in achieving high quality lifelong learning for all that contributes to personal development, sustainable economic growth and social cohesion.
2. The objective of PISA is to support participating Members and Partners in achieving high quality lifelong learning by improving the quality of learning outcomes, increasing equity in learning opportunities, and enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of educational processes and the impact of learning outcomes. The Programme will address this objective by providing progressively enhanced comparative policy insights through the implementation and analysis of internationally standardised assessments of student learning outcomes up to the end of compulsory education.
II. Governing Board
3. The PGB shall be concerned with all matters in the field of competence of the Programme including those of any subsidiary bodies. Having regard to the mandate of the Education Policy Committee (EDPC), the PGB, in particular:
a) Determines the policy priorities for PISA and oversees adherence to these priorities during implementation. This includes the setting of priorities and standards for data development, analysis and reporting as well as the determination of the scope of work that will then form the basis for the implementation of PISA;
b) Ensures compliance with the policy objectives and design parameters at milestones during implementation;
c) Develops and approves its work programme and budget and the floor contribution for the calculation of the scale of contributions, taking into account the medium-term strategy developed by the EDPC;
d) Prioritises its activities and outputs in consultation with the EDPC;
e) Monitors the quality and timeliness of output results, activities and projects;
f) Disseminates its policy advice, analysis, research and data to a wide range of Members and Partners participating in PISA;
g) Evaluates the outcomes of the work;
h) Seeks the guidance of the EDPC for recommendations with major policy implications and for decisions to launch major new activities with significant financial implications for OECD Members.
4. Representatives on the PGB are deemed to speak on behalf of the government that they represent. Governments should, whenever possible, appoint representatives to the PGB who are knowledgeable about large-scale student assessments and their interface with educational policy and practice.
5. The Chair and Vice-Chairs of the PGB will be designated for a one-year period with the understanding that this can be renewed at least twice.
6. The Chair or a Vice Chair of the EDPC, the Governing Board of the Centre for Educational Research and Innovation, the Teaching and Learning International Survey Governing Board, and the Board of Participating Countries for the Programme for International Assessment of Adult Competencies may attend meetings of the PGB, ex officio.
7. In accordance with Rule 4 of the OECD Rules of Procedure, the PGB may organise its meetings or meeting of its subsidiary bodies outside OECD Headquarters. The host will accept responsibility for additional direct and indirect expenditures related to the meeting so that it is no more expensive for the Organisation than it would have been if held at OECD Headquarters, except if specific circumstances justify a different approach.
8. The PGB shall seek the consensus in its decisions. If unable to reach consensus, the matter will be put to the vote and will be decided by a two-thirds majority of the PGB. Notwithstanding this provision, decisions relating to the operation of the PGB, the elements to be included in calculating the floor contribution for the scale of contributions, changes to project design and structure as well as the frequency of successive PISA surveys and matters related to the participation by non-Members will be adopted by consensus.
III. Participation
9. Participation in PISA is open to:
• OECD Members, which have addressed a notification to the Secretary-General to this effect;
• Non-Members, in accordance with the process set out in Paragraph 10, below.
All PISA participants shall appoint one representative to the PGB.
10. Non-OECD Member PISA participants can attend meetings of the PGB as either “PGB associate members” – on the invitation of the OECD Council following a recommendation of the PGB (with an open ended invitation) – or as “PGB participants”– on the invitation of the PGB (with an open ended invitation as long as they continue to participate in PISA and comply with the technical standards).
11. OECD Members participating in PISA and PGB associate members participate in the decision-making in the PGB.
IV. Budget of the Programme
12. The programme of work and budget of the Programme and the scale of contributions shall be examined by the Budget Committee, which shall address its comments to the PGB, and shall refer to the Council any question which cannot be settled by agreement with the PGB. The budget shall be deemed to be adopted at the end of this procedure.
13. The expenditure of PISA shall be charged against the appropriations authorised for it under Part II of the Budget of the Organisation.
14. The scale of contributions applicable to OECD Members participating in PISA and PGB associate members will be composed of:
‒ a floor contribution, to be determined by the PGB, and
‒ the remainder of costs to be assigned to OECD Members participating in PISA and PGB associate members on the basis of the OECD principles and rules for determining the scales of contributions by Members other than for Part I of the Budget of the Organisation[1]*, using as input statistics the national income data and exchange rates used in the calculation of scales for the previous year, subject to the following:
15. Each OECD Member participating in PISA and PGB associate member’s contribution will be determined by the previous year’s contribution in real terms plus an adjusted difference representing the difference between their contribution for the current year as calculated in accordance with the previous paragraph and the previous year’s inflation adjusted contribution, adjusted so that:
a) no OECD Member participating in PISA or PGB associate member’s contribution increases or decreases by reference to their contribution in the previous year by more than 5% in real terms, and
b) all OECD Member participating in PISA and PGB associate members share the same percentage in the difference between their contribution for the current year as calculated in accordance with the previous paragraph and the previous year’s contribution in real terms.
16. Appropriations for which no commitment has been entered before the end of the Financial Year for which they were appropriated, as well as any surplus income, shall be automatically carried forward to the budget of PISA for the ensuing year by decision of the Secretary General, notwithstanding the provisions of Regulation 10 of the Financial Regulations of the Organisation.
17. PGB participants’ fees, if any, shall be determined by the Secretariat of PISA.
18. An OECD Member participating in PISA or PGB associate member would fall into arrears on 1 January of the year following the year of the call for payment of the assessed contribution if the contribution remains unpaid at that date. If an OECD Member participating in PISA or a PGB associate member’s contribution remained unpaid in the second year following the year of call for payment, a proposal would be considered to suspend its participation, unless it paid its outstanding contribution. Settlement of the outstanding debt by the OECD Member participating in PISA or PGB member in arrears will reverse the suspension. If, in the third year following the year of call for payment, an OECD Member participating in PISA or a PGB associate member’s contribution remained unpaid, a proposal would be considered to exclude it from the PISA Programme, unless it paid its outstanding contribution. The decision of exclusion shall be adopted by the Council. This decision shall be notified to the concerned PGB member.
V. Co-ordination arrangements
19. The PGB shall maintain close working relationships with other relevant bodies
of the Organisation working on issues related to educational assessment and outcomes.
20. The PGB shall co-operate with other international and regional organisations active in its field of competence.
21. The PGB may consult with non-governmental bodies as and when necessary.
VI. Duration
22. This Resolution shall remain in force until 31 December 2026.