What distinguishes the ISA from other standardised assessments currently used in international schools?
It is designed specifically for international school populations This means that it is a test that is not targeted to any one national or cultural group: the test material is eclectic, drawing on many cultural and national sources; it has been designed with the knowledge that the students who will sit the test come from many cultural, social and linguistic groups, and that the curricula they have been exposed to are diverse. Another related feature is that the language in the assessments is chosen with an international population in mind, in the knowledge that at least half of the test-takers have mother tongues other than English. Although the reading and writing tests inevitably depend on language proficiency (inseparable from the domains), the mathematical test attempts to use language that will be accessible to non-English speaking background students as well as English speaking background students. It is based on an internationally endorsed concept and assessment frameworks The IS
