Percentage of students at a school passing standardized tests offered by a regional governance body during the reporting period.
Organizations should footnote a description of the standardized test, the threshold for passing, how many tests were taken, and other relevant details.
This metric is intended to capture the percentage of students who have passed standardized tests. For example, if two students take a test and only one achieves a passing score, this metric is 50%. If students take more than one test, organizations should report the average pass rate across all tests. In many cases, data are collected by schools (public or private) or another third party.
Where possible, organizations should aim to report the related metric Average Student Test Score (PI9024), which captures growth in test scores rather than an absolute pass rate.
Organizations may disaggregate data by grade level as needed to identify underlying patterns.
In all contexts, tests should reflect learners' social, environmental, and learning norms and needs. Organizations are encouraged to footnote details on how and by whom tests have been developed, as well as how they are fit to context.
In some contexts, this metric can serve as an indicator of whether the outcome being sought by an investor or organization is occurring (the WHAT dimension of impact). For more on the alignment of IRIS metrics to the five dimensions of impact, see IRIS+ and the Five Dimensions of Impact (https://iris.thegiin.org/document/iris-and-the-five-dimensions/). No single metric is sufficient to understand an impact; rather, metrics are selected as a set across all dimensions of impact. When possible, the selection of metrics to measure and describe the five dimensions should be based on best practice and evidence.
June 2022 - IRIS v5.3 Released (current version)
Immaterial change. Minor revisions to definition and usage guidance for clarity.
January 2020 - IRIS v5.1 Released
Immaterial change. Edited formula and usage guidance to clarify and link to underlying IRIS+ metrics.
March 2016 - IRIS v4.0 Released
Immaterial change. Minor revision to definition language for clarity.
March 2014 - IRIS v3.0 Released
Immaterial change. Minor revision to definition language for clarity.
November 2011 - IRIS v2.2 Released
No change.
February 2011 - IRIS v2.1 Released
No change.
September 2010 - IRIS v2.0 Released
New metric. Student Tests Pass Rate (PI8372) IRIS Taxonomy Development Group
IRIS Metrics Work Better in Sets
To use IRIS metrics—and the resulting data—to understand impact performance, IRIS metrics should be used and analyzed in generally accepted sets and according to well-defined objectives. IRIS+ gives you access to generally accepted Core Metrics Sets aligned to common Impact Themes and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).