Students in Shanghai, China were top in maths: the city’s 15-year-olds scored the equivalent of nearly three years of schooling above students in most OECD countries. Singapore’s students were the next highest performers. Other East Asian economies, including Chinese Taipei and Japan, saw improved results since the previous PISA round in 2009.
In Europe, Germany and Poland showed notable progress, as did Brazil and Mexico in Latin America.
The vast array of data collected through the study provides lessons to improve how education responds to the challenges of our time. In his summary of key PISA outcomes in the OECD Observer, Andreas Schleicher, who runs the study, points out some key features.
One of them is that students in the highest performing countries attribute success to hard work rather than inherited intelligence, which suggests that values instilled through education and social context can make a difference. Another interesting feature is that “high performers embrace diversity among students with differentiated instructional practices”, as Mr Schleicher points out. This reflects the importance PISA places on understanding how education can best help students overcome social disadvantage.
Another key lesson of PISA is in the vital role of quality teachers. The best performing countries put a special emphasis on teacher selection processes, training, incentives–through good career prospects, for instance–as well as on developing innovative approaches to teaching. Crucially, top educational systems are also those that deliver high quality across the entire school system, from the earliest years to the first steps in professional life.