It’s been said that the 21st century is an information age. With ever-advancing information technology and a wave of globalization reaching every corner of the globe, it is essential for individuals to receive high quality education that provides the specialized skills and knowledge necessary in the coming years.

Through the DeSeCo ⁽¹⁾ Project launched in 1997, OECD defined three categories of Key Competencies for a successful life and well-functioning society: “interacting in socially heterogeneous groups”,“acting autonomously”, and “using tools interactively”, In order to measure the levels of these competencies, OECD began PISA ⁽²⁾ in 2000, testing fifteen-year-old middle school students from different countries. There are plans for new testing programs such as “PIAAC⁽³⁾”for ages 16 to 64, and another for nine-year-olds. It is still fresh in our memory that the results of the 2003 PISA revealed a decline in the reading literacy of Japanese children - especially in the areas of “reflecting and evaluating the form of a text”, and “developing an interpretation of a text”

Many of the countries participating in PISA already have a head start on the research and curriculum development for ICT⁽⁴⁾ literacy, social skills and citizenship education for future PISA and PIAAC tests. They are also investigating new testing methods to measure said skills and knowledge, as efficient scoring and data analysis will lead to better education at large. While the educational community worldwide has undertaken this task, Japan has yet to make a significant contribution to this world effort. CRET is built on three pillars of research: Assessment and Analysis of Educational Testing Theories; Development of Testing Items and Content; and Advancement of Testing Technology. With CRET, we aim to improve the state of educational testing and new curriculum development while working closely with world-leading educational testing organizations to accomplish this mission.

It is our hope that the positive attributes of Japan and Asia be incorporated into our effort, and are reflected in the international community through our work. We aspire to become a reference in Asia in the field of educational testing and analysis.

(1) Definition and Selection of Competencies
(2) Programme for International Student Assessment
(3) Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies
(4) Information Communication Technology