The performances of 15-year-old pupils in education varies significantly throughout the European Union. Overall, countries in Eastern Europe: Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria and Greece achieve results that are not as good as those in Western Europe, according to the new OECD survey published on Tuesday, 6 December.
During the presentation of the report, the Commissioner for Education, Tibor Navracsics, stated, “Basic skills are crucial for succeeding not just at school but later in life, in complementary education and on the labour market. Too many young Europeans are not sufficiently prepared for the challenges of modern and highly innovative societies”.
The PISA survey is published every three years and assesses the performances of 15-year old pupils in science, reading comprehension, mathematics and collaborative problem-solving (sample of 540,000 students). It particularly focuses on quality, equity and the efficiency of school systems in 35 Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries, as well as 37 non-member economies and countries. It concludes that more than one out of five pupils are not proficient in basic skills.
The section of the report focusing on the European Union revealed that more than 15% of 15-year-olds are unable to carry out tasks that require at least a minimum ability and capacity for thinking autonomously in one of the different areas tested. Estonia and Finland are the only countries where at least nine out of ten 15-year-olds master the basic skills that everyone should possess before leaving school.
During a press release, Commissioner Navracsics explained, “It is worrying to observe that the number of under achieving pupils was declining three years ago but has now increased (+4% on average) in the science field”. In Finland, Greece, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, the number of very high performing pupils it has fallen, whilst the number of those performing less well has risen. The Commissioner pointed out that, “Only two member states succeeded in improving their results in science, reading and mathematics – Sweden and Portugal. Portugal is the only country that has succeeded in improving its results continuously since 2001”. Nonetheless, the Commissioner was unwilling to comment on the rather discouraging results from the French-speaking community in Belgium, compared to the rest of the country and only indicated that each region had its own challenges to face.
The Commission points out that strengthening basic skills will be one of the focuses of the examination of key skills the Commission will be launching next year. The report can be consulted at: http://www.oecd.org/pisa-en/. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)