Comparative Assessment of Educational Outcomes, Cultures and Systems (COMPASS)

In this research area we design and carry out large-scale assessments, national and international, of learning outcomes and environments and make use of such assessments in comparative studies on various education systems and cultures (e.g. PISA, PIAAC, ICCS, TIMSS, PIRLS, TALIS). Our research is primarily focused on basic education but is also directed at vocational and higher education.

By means of further and meta-analyses of international assessment data we investigate the pedagogical and sociocultural connections between learning outcomes, student attitudes, teaching, and school atmosphere. Part of our research efforts is focused on the methodology of evaluation, as well, especially on the validation of research instruments and on the quality assurance of assessment data.