Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth, 2009 cohort (Version 9.0)

In 2009 a nationally representative sample of about 14,000 15-year-old students was selected to participate in the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). This group of young people became the fifth cohort of the LSAY program (LSAY Y09). As part of PISA, assessments in mathematical literacy, reading literacy and scientific literacy were administered in schools to provide information on student achievement. Students also completed a background questionnaire about themselves, their families, their reading activities, their English lessons, libraries, strategies in reading and understanding texts, familiarity with computers, educational and vocational plans, attitudes to school and learning, work experience, workplace learning, and part-time work. In 2010, members of the Y09 cohort were contacted for the first of their annual LSAY telephone interviews. The questionnaire for their 2010 interview included questions on school, transitions from school, post-school education and training, work, job history, job search activities, health, living arrangements, finance and general attitudes. Subsequent surveys asked similar questions, but with the emphasis changing from school to post-school education, training and work, depending on the young person's circumstances. Since 2012, respondents were given the option to complete their interviews online.