PISA (Program for International Student Assessment): OECD | 01 Sep 2021

The field trial of PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) is scheduled to be held from September, 2021.

About:
- It is a competency-based test designed to assess the ability of the 15-year-old candidates that measures their reading, mathematics, and science literacy every three years to apply their knowledge to real-life situations.
- It is an international survey coordinated by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and was first conducted in 2000.
India's Participation:
- India has participated in the PISA test only once before, in 2009. In this round of PISA, where students from Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu sat for the test, India ranked 72^nd out of 73 countries, outranking only Kyrgyzstan.
- Since then, India has strayed away from the test until now, for students from Chandigarh will be sitting for the test in 2022.
  - Originally the main PISA survey was scheduled for 2021, but was postponed by one year owing to the pandemic.
Significance for India:
- Learnings from participation in PISA will help to introduce competency-based examination reforms in the school system and help move away from rote learning. The CBSE and NCERT will be part of the process and activities leading to the actual test.
- It would lead to recognition and acceptability of Indian students and prepare them for the global economy in the 21^st century.

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

It was formed in 1961. It has 38 member countries. India is not a member but one of the key partners of the organisation.
It is an international organisation, having a goal to shape policies that foster prosperity, equality, opportunity and well-being for all.
It is headquartered at Paris, France.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Secretariat is located at OECD headquarters.