The advent of high-speed internet, mass search engines, and online databases has transformed the ways in which information is presented, requiring students to be digitally literate to take full advantage of the available resources. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) recognizes the significance of this phenomenon, stating, “[s]tudents unable to navigate through a complex digital landscape will no longer be able to participate fully in the economic, social and cultural life around them.”

Through a collection of questionnaires, the 2012 PISA measured students’ perspectives on school engagement, motivation, and beliefs in their academic abilities. These concepts, OECD notes, become relatively stable during adolescence, leading students “to behave in consistent and predictable ways across a wide range of situations.” OECD also acknowledges that such dispositions are influenced heavily by the quality of the students’ learning environments. Therefore, a well-resourced classroom is critical for developing positive qualities such as perseverance, internal locus of control, and high self-efficacy that prepare students for better academic performance and life success.

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a triennial, global test of fifteen-year-olds in mathematics, science, and reading abilities taken alongside a questionnaire about their school experiences. The assessment also surveys principals about their students’ learning environments, from the physical location of the school to the activities offered. Since the test’s first administration in 2000, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has collected PISA results from millions of students representing seventy different countries and economies.