The OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is an international standardised assessment of the skills and knowledge of 15 year olds. This programme, in which 32 countries in the 2000 assessment took part, aims to assess performance in three domains: reading, mathematical and scientific literacy.
The Autonomous Region of The Basque Country will officially take part in the PISA 2003 assessment with its own sample.
The PISA project pretends to go beyond the definition of each domain in relation to school curriculum command, but also to look at students' ability and skills relevant for life. The assessment of cross-curricular competences is an integral part of the PISA programme.
The command of procedures, understanding of concepts, and the ability to respond to different situations inside each domain is considered specially important.
The PISA programme understands education as the whole of skills and abilities that assist 15 year old students along their transition into adult life and their integration and participation in society. These skills and abilities must be acquired not only in schools but also through the interaction with the other members of the community.
In short, it aims to assess literacy, understood as the whole of skills necessary to participate actively in society; the learning of these skills is a never ending activity that is developed along a lifetime.

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Pisa Governing Board meeting 2004