WILLEMSTAD – Curaçao is exploring whether to participate in a future round of PISA, the OECD’s international education assessment, after sitting out the 2025 cycle and therefore being unable to directly compare the performance of Curaçao students with that of their peers abroad.
Minister of Education Sithree van Heydoorn informed the Curaçao Parliament that the government intends to determine which form of international comparison would be most appropriate for the island and what conditions and costs would be involved in participating in a future PISA cycle.
The Programme for International Student Assessment, better known as PISA, periodically assesses the skills of 15-year-old students in areas including reading and mathematics.
According to Van Heydoorn, the international results from the 2025 assessment present a concerning picture, particularly regarding basic skills. However, he stressed that those results cannot be used to draw conclusions about Curaçao because the island did not participate.
The government nevertheless intends to use international findings as a reference point when evaluating Curaçao’s education system.
According to the minister, the focus should extend beyond language, reading and mathematics. Digitalization, artificial intelligence and the growing volume of information available to young people are making other competencies increasingly important.
Students must be able to understand and critically evaluate information, solve problems and think independently, the ministry says.
The government also wants to establish a more systematic approach to measuring educational performance within Curaçao.
Van Heydoorn said authorities need to be able to determine whether investments and improvement programs actually produce better learning outcomes after several years.
Existing information, including results from student progress assessments, should therefore be used more systematically. The government intends to identify relevant indicators and monitor changes in student performance over time.
According to Van Heydoorn, the central question should not be which particular program or assessment instrument is used, but whether education policies produce measurable improvements for students.
The government wants to be able to objectively establish whether its measures result in students becoming better at reading, mathematics, comprehension, critical thinking and problem-solving.
Before committing to PISA, the government will also examine what additional value the international assessment would provide alongside Curaçao’s existing testing and monitoring systems.
No final decision has yet been made on Curaçao’s participation in a future PISA cycle.