PISA (Program for International Student Assessment), first performed in the year 2000, is an initiative by Organization for Economic Co-operation & Development (OECD) to enhance the education system of its member and non - member nations and economies by assessing the level of education in these nations through the global assessment conducted. The various parameters that are computed using the PISA test help in knowing the major causes for the aberrations in the education system a particular nation and ensures in the research to develop the educational system of the nation. Program for International Student Assessment primarily measures Problem Solving & Cognition of the students by testing their scholastic performance on Mathematics, Science& Reading.
OECD aims to provide through PISA, a comparable data to enable countries to improve their education policies & outcomes. Thus, PISA is considered as one of the assessments used in the process of education policy making at both national and international levels, i.e. "PISA can offer insights into sources of variation in performances within and between countries."

PISA Test Exam Pattern - procedure of the PISA test

• From the list of the participating countries, a list of selected schools is sent by the nations for the PISA test.
• The test revolves around testing the analytical and reasoning skills of the students and not around the memorization of the data.

The test comprises of five different sections whose break up is given in the following table: