On October 9, the China National Academy of Educational Sciences (CNAES) held an online working meeting with the team of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) to discuss potential joint research involving the Global Digital Education Development Index (GDEI) and PISA. Li Yongzhi, Secretary of the Party Committee and President of CNAES, and Andreas Schleicher, Director for Education and Skills at the OECD, took part in the discussion.

Li Yongzhi noted that GDEI and PISA share important common ground, including core questions of mutual interest and indicators and data that can inform one another. At the same time, the two initiatives have distinct strengths, reflected in their assessment approaches and the perspectives from which they examine education. PISA 2025 covered 91 countries and economies, with more than 760,000 students participating. After three years of development, GDEI 2026 now covers 82 countries. A total of 65 countries participate in both GDEI and PISA, representing 79% of the countries covered by GDEI and 71% of those covered by PISA; together, these countries account for nearly 50% of the world’s population. This substantial overlap provides a strong data foundation for global joint research. By building on their similarities, the two initiatives can support and advance one another; by drawing on their differences, they can highlight their respective strengths and value.

Andreas Schleicher spoke highly of GDEI’s research findings and the value of collaboration with PISA. He noted that GDEI takes a macro-level, country-focused perspective, while PISA examines student learning outcomes at the micro level, and that both address the transformation of learning in the digital world (LDW). GDEI can provide important complementary information for PISA, helping extend insights from micro-level data to the broader policy context. The two initiatives are mutually reinforcing and complementary. Bringing them together can help illuminate the relationship between digital education development and student learning outcomes, providing valuable evidence to inform more effective digital education policies. Schleicher expressed his hope that the two teams would deepen their collaboration and integrate macro-level evidence with micro-level assessment data to produce findings with significant policy relevance. He added, “I believe that by bringing together the macro and micro perspectives and working closely together, we can build a better tomorrow.”

During the meeting, Li Meng, a member of the GDEI team, introduced a research framework for linking GDEI’s assessment of national digital education development with PISA data on schools, teachers, families, and students. Jin Long, also from the GDEI team, outlined preliminary ideas for joint analysis, focusing on the relationship between digital education development and student competencies, equity and safety governance in digital education, and the use of artificial intelligence in education. PISA team members Miyako Ikeda, Natalie Foster, and Rodrigo Castaneda Valle responded positively to the proposed framework and topics and offered practical suggestions.

The two teams agreed to establish a long-term collaboration mechanism and continue in-depth cooperation on specific technical and research questions, while further exploring approaches to integrating GDEI and PISA data. The meeting laid a foundation for leveraging the strengths of both initiatives and deepening cooperation in digital education monitoring and evaluation. It also opened up new opportunities to understand digital education development and its learning outcomes from a global comparative perspective.

Participants also included Ma Xiaoqiang, Executive Deputy Director of the National Office for Education Sciences Planning; Qin Lin, Director of the Department of International Exchange; Cao Peijie, Director of the Institute of Digital Education; and Wang Xiaofei, Director of the Institute of Comparative Education. The meeting was chaired by researcher Zhu Xinyu, Deputy Director of the Institute of Education Statistics and Data Analysis. Colleagues from the Institute of Education Statistics and Data Analysis, the Institute of Digital Education, the Institute of Comparative Education, and the Department of International Exchange also participated in the discussion.