The paper is devoted to the issue about the functioning of a common system for assessing the education quality and its improvement in Latvia. The aim of the paper is to compare the results gained in the OECD PISA study with the assessment data on the quality of Latvian national general education and the indicators characterizing the school. The research goal is to explore the relationship between the results of students’ achievement in PISA 2006 and the results of Grade 9 students in the national examinations -mathematics and sciences. The paper will also study the dependence of students’ achievement on the indicators of school funding (funding per one pedagogical fulltime load and funding per student), the number of students at school per one pedagogical fulltime load and other socioeconomic indicators of the school and family, using the statistic data on education in Latvia and the data from PISA study. Finally, at the end the authors will provide the evaluation of the correspondence between the results of the international and state measurements of the education quality. In case of need, the recommendations for improving the procedures of implementing the state examinations and other recommendations for the policy makers concerning a common monitoring system of education quality in Latvia will be worked out.

The study will use the methods of descriptive statistics, including the correlation

1. due to incompatibility of national information systems and failures of SE student achievement data there are difficulties in comprehensive secondary education research; 2. PISA 2006 because of its research methodology, providing more scientific and objective valid data of student achievement; 3. Evaluation organization of 9th grade SE in mathematics does not provide objective evaluation process, as confirmed by disproportionately high rates in range with minimum requirements for passing exam; 4. Measurements shows that there are weak or negative correlation between the state administrative areas socio-economic indicators and areas student achievement; 5. There is weak correlation between the student achievements and number of students at school (school size). 6. National and international studies show a statistically significant difference in achievement ratio by gender in the same competencies; 7. SE in science distribution close to normal can be explained by the fact that this exam does not affect the requirements for 9th graduation; 8. Both studies shows mutually similar achievement distribution by the type of school and by the after school level of urbanization; 9. PISA 2006 shows higher correlation between student achievement in mathematics and science competencies than SE in 9th (mathematics and natural science).