The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's International Early Learning and Child Well-being Study: The second cycle report

This Colloquium continues the critique of the International Early Learning and Child Well-being Study (IELS ), an international large-scale assessment study of 5-year-olds by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). After revisiting what IELS is, it focuses on a recently published report on the second cycle of IELS, taking a critical look at this report, highlighting what we regard as being four particularly problematic areas and questioning the study's rationale. In conclusion, this Colloquium asks why the OECD persists with pursuing its array of international large-scale assessments, in the face of mounting criticism, and we suggest it is part of an existential effort to secure OECD's global influence.