Use of data from 21st century skills assessments: issues and key principles

With the learning goals of education shifting to include a broader range of skills, the challenge globally is how to support students in developing these skills. The components of the education system must be aligned to support the development of 21st century skills, and the qualitatively different structure of these skills requires some completely new approaches, both in the measurement aspect and collection of assessment data. A major issue that confronts education systems is a deficiency in the effective use of collected student learning outcomes data. Notwithstanding the huge sums that are dedicated to its collection, a proportional commitment is not made to its strategic analysis or its dissemination.