EDUCATION MATTERS
Christina de la Villa Gonzalez and Sofie Gry Bindslev (Aarhus University, Denmark) then discussed educational trends in Denmark, noting the increasing integration of students with special educational needs and disabilities in mainstream schools. They highlighted how this integration can cause challenges for students participating in IEA studies if their needs are not accommodated. They pointed out both ethical and methodological challenges associated with increased exclusion rates as well as strategies they have implemented in Denmark to enhance inclusivity, maintain data reliability, and improve student participation in IEA studies.
increasing use of online surveys despite their convenience. These findings underscore the challenges and trade-offs involved in adopting digital methods. By tackling the multifaceted challenges of exclusions and participation, this symposium aligned with the theme of the IRC 2025, Researching Education for Sustainable Futures , by inspiring dialogue, informing policy, and guiding practices to make IEA studies more inclusive and equitable in their representation of global education systems. To ensure IEA studies are sustainable, the studies need to adapt to the changing education landscape and students’ diverse educational needs. While the IRC offered a venue to highlight this topic, it is important to note that research in this area is ongoing at IEA. We received an award from Call 4 of the IEA R&D Fund for Striving for More Inclusiveness: Understanding and Addressing Student Exclusions in TIMSS and PIRLS . This study will analyze the performance of excluded students with available data to evaluate the implications of including them in the assessment results. In addition, Rolf Strietholt (IEA) also received Call 4 funding for Assessment Design for Accommodating Participants with Tailored Support (ADAPT) to explore how countries manage accommodations for students with special education needs in IEA studies. Further practical work is also ongoing. The sampling team recently helped revise the text in the Survey Operation Procedure manuals explaining exclusions and accommodations, noting IEA’s commitment to inclusivity in our assessments and clarifying and harmonizing the definitions of exclusion categories. Moreover, an early- warning system allowing national teams the monitoring of exclusion and participation rates during data collection is underway.
“This symposium aligned with the theme of the IRC 2025, Researching Education for Sustainable Futures , by inspiring dialogue, informing policy, and guiding practices to make IEA studies more inclusive and equitable in their representation of global education systems.”
Sabine Meinck (IEA) then presented about understanding and addressing student exclusion in IEA studies, with an emphasis on students with special educational needs (SEN) and their participation. Using Denmark’s TIMSS 2023 Grade 4 data as a case study, she highlighted that Denmark’s decision to include previously excluded students reduced their exclusion rate by 4 percent, bringing it below the 5 percent threshold. Notably, 89 percent of these students achieved at least the low TIMSS international benchmark, demonstrating the suitability of the test materials for their cognitive and academic abilities and highlighting the need to explore further across other countries and studies. Alec Kennedy (IEA) then examined administration mode effects on questionnaire nonresponse in TIMSS and PIRLS, focusing on the shift from paper-based to digital formats. Perhaps surprisingly, participation rates have declined with
We look forward to further research on and discussions about this important and timely topic. ■
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