Miriam Salvisberg
M. Salvisberg - Valorizzare i dati per migliorare la scuola
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Miriam is a researcher at the Competence Centre for Innovation and Research on Education Systems (CIRSE) of the Department of Education and Learning / University of Teacher Education (DFA/ASP). Together with her team, she collects and analyses the extensive data gathered from standardised tests, which are tools designed to improve the education system as a whole.
Since 2011 and 2013 respectively, she has been responsible for the team for Italian-speaking Switzerland working on the international PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) survey and the team working on the national VeCoF (verification of fundamental skills) survey.
Miriam, how did you get involved in the world of standardised testing?
I have always been fascinated by the school environment and, more specifically, by the topic of assessment. This led me to become involved in the field of standardised testing and large-scale surveys of education systems. I like the field of standardised testing because it gives me the opportunity to travel, discuss and reflect with people from different backgrounds. I also find it satisfying to be able to make available to everyone information that is the result of work spread over several years (each survey lasts three to four years) and that can be useful for understanding how to improve the education system as a whole.
What are the objectives of the PISA and VeCoF standardised tests?
These tests are primarily intended to provide information about the education system to help policymakers make decisions at national and cantonal level. Standardised tests and questionnaires are used to assess the skills of pupils in different years and in different school subjects. The information gathered from the questionnaires, such as social status, study methods and school climate, allows the results to be interpreted in context.
What results have emerged so far?
In general, these surveys show that students in Switzerland and the Canton of Ticino have good skills in mathematics, Italian and science compared to other countries. Furthermore, it has been observed that socio-economic status has a significant impact on student performance. In other words, if a student comes from a privileged socio-economic background, they are more likely to achieve high levels of competence. International, national and cantonal reports, published regularly, contain specific information on each survey.
What kind of partners collaborate in conducting and carrying out these investigations?
For these projects, we work with universities and research centres throughout Switzerland. In particular, the Interfaculty Centre for Educational Research (ICER) at the University of Bern is responsible for these two surveys and coordinates the work of the regional competence centres in each of Switzerland's three linguistic regions: the Institute of Educational Psychology (IPP) at the University of St. Gallen (PHSG) for German-speaking Switzerland, the Research Centre of the Canton of Geneva (SRED) for French-speaking Switzerland, and the CIRSE for Italian-speaking Switzerland. In addition to these partners, we work closely with education policy representatives at both national (CDPE and SEFRI) and cantonal level (DECS for Ticino). In Ticino, we work very closely with the School Division, from the selection of participating schools for the surveys to the drafting and communication of the final results.