Key Issues raised by PISA 2009
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Highlights from Scotland's Results -PISA 2009
Background
International education comparisons enable us to ascertain if we are on the right track in terms of our performance, that we have adopted the right policies and are making the best use of resources. We recognise the importance of benchmarking our performance internationally, and have established links with other countries to share experiences and consider how others deal with the complex issues of education.
The international comparisons provided through PISA and the additional thematic report produced by the OECD and others in the following years, identify some key issues to be addressed. Several major pieces of Government policy have a role to play, and below are some initial responses to the issues raised in the PISA 2009 Report.
Policy Context
The Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) programme is aimed at improving standards for all, across all schools, through the adoption of a more flexible approach to teaching and learning, with assessment which follows and reinforces learners' experiences. This personalised and flexible approach to learning will help bring about improvements in national and comparative performance. For the first time, all educational practitioners in all schools are responsible for developing literacy and numeracy skills, across subjects. The guidance for CfE places a strong emphasis on the development of literacy and numeracy, with specific outcomes expected for each of these areas.
Literacy and Numeracy
The Scottish Government's Literacy Action Plan aims to raise national literacy standards. The plan signals the Government's commitment to a heightened, more targeted focus on improving literacy skills in Scotland through better co-ordination and partnership working, focussed on clear objectives. The aim is to raise standards of literacy for all from the early years to adulthood, with a particular focus on those with the lowest levels of literacy.
National performance will continue to be regularly assessed by the Scottish Survey of Literacy and Numeracy (SSLN). The Government is working towards making better use of national measures such as the SSLN and moderated assessment within schools to assist schools and local authorities to identify areas of learning where we can make improvements, or any unusual trends or patterns in achievement to enable more prompt and personalised interventions.
Science
The Curriculum for Excellence "experiences and outcomes" science guidance is based on the concept of science as an important part of our heritage with its application as part of our everyday lives. Through science, children and young people develop their interest in, and understanding of, the living, material and physical world. They can engage in a wide range of collaborative investigative tasks, which allows them to develop important skills to become creating and enterprising adults in a world where the skills and knowledge of science are needed across all sectors of the economy. This concept of science fits with that put forward by the OECD in PISA, with its use of science literacy to represent the ability of students to apply scientific knowledge and understanding to everyday problems.
In order to raise the profile of science education and encourage more young people to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, the Scottish Government has published a Science and Engineering Education Action Plan.
Issues raised by the PISA Survey
Issue -The PISA report (Volume I, pages 54, 134 and 151) highlights the performance of Shanghai, Hong-Kong, Singapore, Finland and Korea. Shanghai in particular has performed at a very high level.
Response - We have been looking with interest at the performance of several countries, including Shanghai, and while it is recognised that across the world there are many economic and cultural differences, we are keen to learn from the way other countries have improved their education systems.
Issue - The PISA report (Volume I, page 158) highlights the importance of addressing low performance. Those who fail to reach Level 2 are considered not to have baseline levels of proficiency needed to participate effectively and productively in life. Scotland has a below average proportion of students in this category, which is good, but several countries have considerably fewer.
Response - Curriculum for Excellence focuses on the needs of the learner, and ensures that all those who need support, in certain aspects of the curriculum or across learning, receive it. We will continue to promote our National Framework for Inclusion which identifies the values and beliefs, professional knowledge and understanding in terms of inclusive education, to be expected of all teachers. The Government's Literacy Action Plan (see above) places a focus on supporting pupils with the lowest levels of literacy development and emphasises the need for early identification of additional support needs through personalised assessments in Primary 1 and beyond.
In mathematics, the curriculum framework encourages young people to explore the application of mathematical concepts and to understand and solve problems, explaining their thinking and presenting their solutions to others in a variety of ways. At all stages there is an emphasis on collaborative learning that will encourage children to reason logically and creatively through discussion of mathematical ideas and concepts.
Also, the Government's Science and Engineering Action Plan identifies the need for sustained and improved performance in international studies. In order to take forward the Action Plan, a Science and Engineering Advisory Group has been formed.
Issue - The OECD report (Volume I, Annex B2) highlights that, of the three subjects covered, Scotland's performance was weakest in mathematics. This was the only area that we were not above the OECD average and our international ranking may be falling slightly.
Response - The Government is taking action to help drive up standards of learning and teaching in maths within Curriculum for Excellence:
· Earlier this year HMIE published a report in the "Learning Together" series on Mathematics, providing advice on bringing about improvements, include the need to improve teacher confidence, greater availability of up to date resources and enlivening the subject through active learning and higher order skills development.
· An Excellence Group for Mathematics has been established to offer a view on the skills, attitudes and features of excellence in education that promote deeper learning, better teaching and active learner engagement. Specific questions being considered are the promotion of essential knowledge in mathematics, ways of achieving higher standards and how innovative practice can be developed.
Issue - The PISA report highlights the need to address the link between socio-economic factors and performance (Vol II). In Scotland the size of the performance gap for a difference in socio-economic factors is above average, so this is an area where we must do better.
Response - Curriculum for Excellence provides all children and young people with an entitlement to personal support, to enable them to gain as much as possible from their learning. This support will remove barriers that would otherwise restrict their access to the curriculum.
Issue - The PISA report highlights the importance of students being engaged in reading and developing effective approaches to learning. (Vol III, page 97). In Scotland students reported below average levels of interest in reading.
Response - Through our Early Years Framework, the Government is promoting engagement with reading from an early age - the "Play Talk Read" campaign and support for the Scottish Book Trust's book gifting scheme, "Bookbug", encourages parents and carers to read with their child in the early years.
Within CfE, reading is one of the "organisers" in the experiences and outcomes for literacy across learning, and there is recognition of the importance of enjoyment and choice within this guidance - students are encouraged to select and read texts they enjoy. One of the aims of the Literacy Action Plan is to develop a strong reading culture in Scotland where reading is a valued activity.
Issue - The PISA report highlights the gender gap in engagement in reading, which is a major factor in the difference between girls' and boys' performance. The size of the gap varies considerably between countries, showing that boys and girls do not inherently have different interests and academic strengths (Vol III, pages 97 and 98). In Scotland the gap in engagement is there, though it is not as wide as in the OECD in general.
Response - Curriculum for Excellence places the learner at the centre, and gives practitioners the flexibility to target teaching approaches to individual pupils. The ongoing assessment of literacy skills will enable teachers to offer support which is appropriate to each pupil, helping to breakdown any barriers to literacy development and attainment.
Issue - The PISA report notes that differences in national wealth levels, as measured by GDP per capita, accounted for only six per cent of the differences in student performance in different countries (Vol II, page 3). And while successful systems spend large amounts of money on education, their level does not have a systematic impact within a prevailing range (Vol IV, page 14).
Response - This highlights that throwing money at a system is not necessarily the answer. Factors such as policies, practices and environment of learning account for much of the variation. Educational establishments and practitioners have shown commitment to delivering CfE, and we are now entering a period of stability in the system which will help us to raise standards of learning and teaching.
Policies
Volume IV of the PISA report highlights the importance of the following policies:-
- raising expectations - Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) aims to raise standards and expectations for all young people,. The new 3-18 Curriculum offers a broad and deep general education for all young people from age 3 through to age 15. It includes a senior phase of education (typically 15-18 y/o) which provides opportunities to obtain qualifications and develop skills for learning, life and work. Teachers work to national guidance called Experience and Outcomes that sets out rigorous standards for young people's progression through the different levels of the new curriculum. CfE allows learning to be organised more flexibly. Classes do not need to be based on age cohorts. This is intended to make personalisation and choice easier rather than approaching this through streaming.
- gateways marked by external exams - all new National Qualifications will support the development of literacy and numeracy skills across the curriculum. New Units in literacy and numeracy at SCQF levels 3, 4 and 5 are being developed to provide formal recognition of skills.
- promoting literacy - the literacy development of pupils is a major feature of CfE and, for the first time, is the responsibility of all teachers. The development of literacy skills enables pupils to access learning across the curriculum, and assist with wider overall performance.
- inclusion - in school systems where it is more common to transfer weak or disruptive students out of a school, performance and equity both tend to be lower. We will continue to promote the National Framework for Inclusion. There is a wealth of excellent training and materials available as well as support from specialist teachers and agencies. The importance of inclusion is a key message within the Literacy Action Plan. Curriculum for Excellence also includes the entitlement to support. Children and young people should receive the tailored support they need, through a range of frameworks across the spectrum of learning, to enable all children and young people to help them learn.
- autonomy and accountability - the report highlights that autonomy matters, when it is combined with accountability. A feature of the CfE is that it allows space for innovation and local practice to develop. The curriculum allows a diverse range of approaches to emerge, within the framework, with practitioners learning from each other's experience. Schools are also accountable on various fronts. We have a rigorous inspection and improvement regime in place through HMIe.
- teacher pay and professional development - high quality teachers have always been the mainstay of Scottish school system. The recent OECD publication "Education at a Glance" showed that Scotland's teachers are paid competitively in comparison to other countries. While public sector finances are restricted, local authorities continue to direct approximately one eighth of their spend on teachers' pay. The Literacy Action Plan notes that we will ensure that literacy features as a priority in training, both in terms of initial teacher education and ongoing professional development. Teachers will be supported to share practice, working collegiately to develop effective approached to literacy development. Additionally, a Review of Teacher Training, due to report to Ministers by the end of year, is considering how to meet current and future needs, within the context of CfE.
- parental engagement - there will be a continued focus by schools and teachers in involving parents in literacy development of the children. From P1 onwards reports to parents will include information on children and young people's achievement in literacy and in their development needs for the coming year.