on both primary and secondary education (grades 4 and 8). In 2007, the fourth survey covered grades 4 and 8 and more than 66 educational systems. In 2011, the survey covered 77 educational systems across grades 4 and 8. The last round was performed in 2015 and covered 63 countries/areas. The precise content of the questionnaires varies but remains systematic across countries.

_PIRLS_ **.** The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) survey is also conducted by the IEA. The PIRLS tests pupils in primary schools in grade 4 in reading proficiency. Four rounds of PIRLS have been held to date in 2001, 2006, 2011 and 2016.

In 2006, PIRLS included 41 countries/areas, two of which were African countries (Morocco and South Africa), 4 lower middle-income countries (Georgia, Indonesia, Moldova, Morocco) and 8 upper middle-income countries (Bulgaria, Islamic Republic of Iran, Lithuania, Macedonia, Federal Yugoslavian Republic, Romania, Russian Federation, South Africa). The 2011 round of PIRLS was carried out alongside TIMSS and included 60 countries/areas. The newest round of PIRLS in 2016 includes 50 countries.

_PISA_ **.** The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) launched the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 1997 to provide comparable data on student performance. Since 2000, PISA has assessed the skills of 15-year-old pupils every three years. PISA concentrates on three subjects: mathematics, science and literacy. The framework for evaluation remains the same across time to ensure comparability. In 2009, 75 countries/areas participated; in 2012, 65 countries/areas participated and in 2015, 72 countries/areas participated. An important distinction between PISA and IEA surveys is that PISA assesses 15-year-old pupils, regardless of grade level, while IEA assessments assess grade 4 and 8.

# _B. Regional Standardized Achievement Tests (RSATs)_

In addition to the above international assessments, a series of regional assessments have been conducted in Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean.

_SACMEQ_ **.** The Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ). SACMEQ is a psychometrically designed, standardized test which generally assesses math, reading and English in grade 6 pupils. The first SACMEQ round took place between 1995 and 1999. SACMEQ I covered seven different countries and assessed performance only in reading. The participating countries were Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, United Republic of Tanzania (Zanzibar), Zambia and Zimbabwe. The studies shared common features (instruments, target populations, sampling and analytical procedures). SACMEQ II surveyed pupils from 20002004 in 14 countries: Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho, Mauritius, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania (Mainland), Tanzania (Zanzibar), Uganda, and Zambia. Notably, SACMEQ II also collected information on pupils’ socioeconomic status as well as educational inputs, the educational environment and issues relating to equitable allocation of human and material resources. SACMEQ II also included overlapping items with a series of other surveys for international comparison, namely the _Indicators of the Quality of Education_ (Zimbabwe) study, TIMSS and the 1985-94 IEA _Reading Literacy Study_ . The third SACMEQ round (SACMEQ III) spans 2006-2011 and covers the same countries as SACMEQ II plus 36