?
Russian norms for 500 general-knowledge questions
General knowledge varies from one country to another; therefore, the mere translation of knowledge-based experimental tools from one language to another is usually not enough. This is one of the conclusions that can be extracted from the results of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), a measure of the knowledge achieved by 15-year-olds. Over the years, this periodic measure has reflected clear differences between countries in different areas of knowledge. The PISA program assesses mathematics, sciences, and reading, designed as an indicator of “how well the students master key subjects in order to be prepared for real-life situations in the adult world” (PISA, 2019). An example of a question used in the PISA test is: “As a meteoroid approaches Earth and its atmosphere, it speeds up. Why does this happen?: (1) The meteoroid is pulled in by the 91 rotation of Earth; (2) The meteoroid is pushed by the light of the Sun; (3) The meteoroid is attracted to the mass of Earth; (4) The meteoroid is repelled by the vacuum of space.” The PISA program was first conducted in 2000 and despite the educational changes implemented by each government to increase student competitiveness, significant differences between countries remain. These and similar data suggest that general knowledge varies from country to country owing, among others, to the variety of educational practices in combination with access to the information, cultural practices, etc.