The 15 points that, on average, OECD countries have fallen in mathematics between 2018 and 2022 is a unprecedented drop in history of the PISA report. They are practically equivalent to losing a course (20 points).
Made public today, the international study that measures and compares the skills and knowledge of students of 4th ESO from more than 80 countries in mathematics, reading comprehension and science paints a bleak educational panorama. In reading, things have also gone very badly internationally: ten points less in 2022 compared to 2018. In science, performance is somewhat more stable.
“It is not good news,” say those responsible for PISA, which confirms that Spain has fallen, although less, than other countries. There are only two states that have improved grades in the three subjects evaluated: Qatar and Peru. Both came from very low data, so it’s not great news either.
What has happened, what is failing in education?
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Daniel Roberto SalinasOECD analyst, assures that it is “simplistic” put all the blame on the pandemic and the effect it had on schools: school closures, virtual education and many restrictions. In his opinion, what has happened is that the health crisis “it has intensified a negative trend that already existed before, for a decade”. Despite making it clear that there is no single factor that explains the poor results of PISA, Salinas has put on the table several issues that directly influence economic performance of the students. These are some.
The first is the level of investment in education, not so much the amount of money invested (Euskadi is the community that invests the most per student and is one of those that come out worst in the report) but how to invest. “Resources must be invested effectively,” the analyst assured.
Spain suffered a huge cut in education starting in 2008 and the biggest blow occurred in 2012, just when the negative trajectory drawn in PISA began to accentuate.
Another factor that can explain academic performance has to do with the faculty. The teaching profession has to be, in the words of Salinas, “attractive and prestigious” because that way it contributes to learning. Singapore, for example, demonstrates this direct relationship.
In Spain the teaching profession is not experiencing its best moments. The unions denounce that the workforce is increasingly decimated. In addition, their workload has increased with bureaucratic issues and they have to face discipline problems in class. A recent Csif report ensures that almost all public school teachers (91%) say that there are problems of coexistence in the classrooms. More than half (60%) admit cases of frequent violence among students. 72% affirm that they have suffered verbal or physical attacks, also threats, from the students. And 39% confess that they have been victims of violent acts by the students’ families.
According to OECD analysts, the education of 0-3 years quality is another of the factors that contributes to improving learning in secondary school, the same as fight segregation among the most economically disadvantaged students and those who belong to more affluent classes.
In that section, Spain does have the firm intention of expanding free early childhood education.
That screens generate distraction in the classroom is scientifically proven. 30% of the students examined in PISA admit this. The key factor is the frequency of use. The higher the frequency, the greater the distraction. Is the OECD (an economic, not educational organization) in favor of banning cell phones? No. “A moderate use of digital technology “It may be better in educational terms than an absolute ban,” responds the organization’s analyst.
“We do not know all the advantages of technology nor all the disadvantages,” added the Secretary of State for Education, José Manual Barwhose department has always been more favorable to regulation than prohibition.
Educational powers are transferred to the autonomies, but regarding what the Ministry of Education will do to reverse the bad situation noted in PISA, Bar recalled that Spain falls less than other OECD countries. “There is no complacency in my words, but the reality is that we have a stronger and more resilient educational system than others, which have not resisted adversity so well,” he added in reference to the covid crisis and the impact on classrooms. In fact, Spain is one of the countries that physically closed its classrooms for the shortest time during the pandemic.
“We have to reflect on the margins for improvement. “Our policy is consistent with what we are being told in PISA, the competency curriculum (supported by the current educational law) will serve to improve academic performance,” he concluded, making it clear that give importance to teachers It is another issue that will help reverse the poor results of the report.
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