Janison Education Group Limited (ASX:JAN) has been accredited by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) as the sole provider for the PISA for Schools assessment in the UK, encompassing the four countries – England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
This expands Janison’s coverage as the National Service Provider to six countries for the end-to-end delivery of PISA-for-Schools – the gold standard in measurement of student learning, further strengthening Janison’s market leading position in schools’ assessments.
The OECD has accredited Janison as the exclusive provider of the PISA for Schools assessment across the UK for two years, allowing Janison to now engage governments, school systems, and individual schools across England, N. Ireland, Scotland and Wales for the roll-out of the PISA for Schools programme, marking the first phase in Janison’s entry into the UK, for this programme.
CEO, David Caspari, said Janison’s current operations in the UK include online testing for schools, higher education, and English language accreditation either directly via Janison’s local resources in Europe or through highly regarded partners.
The Board and management of Janison are extremely honoured to be partnering once again with the OECD in the roll-out of such an incredible assessment and benchmarking tool – the only test of its kind in the world,” Mr Caspari said.
“This is our mission – to be a global force for good by powering best-in-class educational assessments with passion and purpose. I congratulate the Janison team for working seamlessly with the OECD to secure, not one, but four, new countries simultaneously.”
UK Market size
In the academic year 2019/2020 there were approximately 7,200 secondary schools in the UK – representing a market 2.6x the size of Australia. The total addressable market in the UK is approximately $50m p.a. (7,200 schools @ A$7k each).
Since accreditation as the Australian provider of PISA-for-Schools in March 20121, Janison has signed approximately 10% of eligible schools to participate in 2021, generating sales revenue in excess of $1.5M. More Australian schools are expected to join the program before testing begins in August.
UK government schools each receive approximately A$3.3m (GBP1.8m) in funding on average from the national education budget of A$9bn (2019/20), and, like other countries, the UK plans to increase spending on education in the coming years. In the 2020-21 academic year, many schools put spending on hold due to COVID, but the significant disruption to classroom teaching and learning now requires schools to evaluate the impact of this on students – a need which can be filled with the PISA for Schools assessment and the comprehensive reporting it provides including the new Global Crises Module.
In April 2019, Janison entered a five-year exclusive partnership with the OECD to provide the digital solution for its PISA for Schools assessment globally.
PISA for Schools is an online assessment that supports individual school improvement efforts using benchmarking based on the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). It tests a sample of 15-year-old school students with two components:
- A cognitive test in reading, mathematics and science using scenario-based real-life questions – testing the application of knowledge.
- A questionnaire about a student’s situation at home and school, reactions to the learning environment, and confidence and motivation for doing well at school.
Educators are reporting that this provides a low-stakes, high value opportunity for schools to benefit from reliable PISA data to drive improvement. Around the world they are unpacking the data in their confidential, individualised reports and using the evidence to set strategic goals, address the gap between the least and most advantaged, leverage a global peer learning community and benefit from a holistic view which brings together heart and mind through the power of student voice.
