English PISA tasks Information about PISA The MoE has given NZCER permission to reproduce some assessment tasks released from the PISA reading literacy study. Reading literacy and its assessment Reading literacy is defined in PISA as: Understanding, using, and reflecting on written texts, in order to achieve one's goals, to develop one's knowledge and potential, and to participate in society. Reading literacy was assessed using a series of texts, students being set a number of tasks on each text. Forty-five percent of the tasks required students to construct their own repsonses, either by providing a brief answer from a wide range of possible answers or by constructing a longer response. A further 45 percent of the tasks were asked in a multiple-choice format, in which students either made one choice from among four or five given alternatives or a series of choices by circling a word or short phrase. The remaining 10 percent of the tasks required students' response from among a limited range of acceptable answers. English PISA tasks Click on the resource number below to access the English PISA tasks. PISA tasks can also be accessed using the keyword "pisa". WL4001 Students read a story 'The Gift' and answer seven questions that are a mix of selected responses and short written responses. WL4002 For this PISA task students read a play script and a definition of some theatrical occupations and answer selected response and short written response questions on the two. WL4024 Students read an article on sports shoes and answer two selected response questions and two short written questions. WL4005 Students read a one-page article on scientific police weapons and answer four selected response questions on purpose, main aim. WL4000 Students read a table on information aid and answer one selected response question and one short written answer. VL4139 Students study a tree diagram on labour forces and answer challenging questions on the data presented. WL4004 Students read two letters about personal viewpoints on graffiti and answer one selected response and three written responses. WL4025 Students read about a flu immunisation programme and answer five questions that are a mix of selected response and short written answer. VL4140 Students study two graphs on Saharan North Africa and answer a mix of selected response and short written responses.     Sample test items from PISA These tests demonstrate the kinds of test items that are used in the PISA assessment. PISA Reading items are presented as three separate 'sub-tests'. The items were originally designed for use in a pencil and paper test, and have been adapted slightly for presentation in this computer-based format. Select the sub-test you want to look at.   English Bank     ARB Home    Please Note: ARB material may be reproduced for school-based assessment purposes, not for sale or other purposes.   The ARBs   Assessment information   Support materials   Help   Contact us   Site map

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