AS an Aberdeen supporter of more than 60 years, I know something about mid-table mediocrity. I console myself with the thought that it’s only a game. As a professional educator it’s impossible to be as sanguine about Scotland’s mid-table performance according to the Programme for International Assessment (Pisa). However, it’s important to look beyond the headline figures.
Critics have lambasted schools and the Government. Yet few have looked closely at the international context and how Pisa is used and perceived around the world. For example, how influential are social, cultural and political differences in determining performance? A cursory examination of the most recent tables reveals that the top spots are occupied by countries with, let’s say, conformist cultures.
“Ah,” I hear you say, “What about Finland?” The inconvenient truth is the performance of Finnish youngsters, particularly boys, has declined steadily since 2012, most markedly in reading.
Any decline in reading ability is significant. Success in Pisa assessment rests on the ability to understand the questions. If children don’t, there’s little chance they will come up with the answer.The respected Finnish educator Pasi Sahlberg has analysed Finland’s decline and his conclusions may well apply to Scotland. He points to reduced budgets and increased class sizes. Special education and auxiliary staffing have been cut while educational inequality has grown. Sound familiar?
Sahlberg also believes Finnish youngsters’ preoccupation with social media and the internet has contributed to the decline. As most teachers will confirm, surgery is required to separate many Scottish youngsters from their smart phones. That may impact on their reading ability and comprehension. Some of the highest performing Pisa countries, for example China, teach towards the tests and their sampling methods are questionable. The Chinese only enter a competition if they think they can win. We could do the same, but would that represent genuine improvement in learning and attainment?
More concerning is our weaker performance relative to other parts of the UK. However, cultural factors may also be significant. It has been suggested that improved attainment in some English inner cities may be due to the preponderance of ethnic minority communities in those areas.
We do need to improve. The single most important factor is not high-powered academic focus groups but the quality of classroom teaching. We need more and better teachers. It’s unfortunate that the Curriculum for Excellence reforms have increased uncertainty and undermined the confidence of the only group that can bring about improvement: our teachers.
We can also learn from best practice in other countries, particularly in addressing educational inequality. For example, why not emulate those countries that allocate the best teachers to the weakest performing youngsters?
The Pisa tables make uncomfortable reading. The answer does not lie at Holyrood or with Education Scotland and local councils. It lies in our classrooms and relentlessly improving the quality of what goes on there day in, day out.
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