177. The items included in this Annex illustrate some of the most important new elements of the
framework. For the sake of ensuring the preservation of trend, the majority of the items in the PISA
2021 will be items that have been used in previous PISA assessments. A larger set of release
items to illustrate the item pool can be found at http://www.oecd.org/pisa/test.
178. The items provided in this annex illustrate some of the following new elements:
The assessment of mathematical reasoning as described in the framework;
The four topics that have been identified for special emphasis in the PISA 2021
assessment, growth phenomena; geometric approximations; computer simulations; and
conditional decision making;
The range of item features that are possible on account of the Computer-Based
Assessment of Mathematics (CBAM); and
Computational thinking.
179. The seven illustrative items provided in this annex include:
SMARTPHONE USE: This item illustrates:
o CBAM capabilities in particular the use of spreadsheets with sorting and other
capabilities.
THE BEAUTY OF POWERS: This item illustrates:
o A range of mathematics reasoning items from simple to more complex in a
mathematical context; and
o Hints at growth phenomena, although, in fairness, the context for this item is more
focused on reasoning and pattern recognition than it is on growth.
ALWAYS SOMETIMES NEVER: This item illustrates:
o A range of reasoning items from simple to more complex including a range of
question types from yes/no and multiple choice to open-ended items
TILING: This item illustrates:
o Reasoning and computational thinking; and
o Geometric representations.
PURCHASING DECISION: This item illustrates:
o The application of conditional decision making.
NAVIGATION: This item illustrates:
o Reasoning in a geometric context; and
o CBAM capabilities in items.
SAVINGS SIMULATION: This item illustrates:
o The use a computer simulation; and
o Hints at growth in the context and impact of interest.