Schoolchildren work in a classroom on the first day of the new school year after summer break in Savenay, France, September 4, 2023. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe/files Acquire Licensing Rights
Summary Nearly 700,000 15-year-olds tested in 81 countries
1 out of 4 were low performers in maths, reading and science
Singapore's students earned top marks in all subjects
PARIS, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Teenagers' mathematics and reading skills are in an unprecedented decline across dozens of countries and COVID school closures are only partly to be blamed, the OECD said on Tuesday in its latest survey of global learning standards.
The Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said it had seen some of the steepest drops in performance since 2000 when it began its usually triennial tests of 15-year-olds reading, maths and science skills.
Nearly 700,000 youths took the two-hour test last year in the OECD's 38 mostly developed country members and 44-non members for the latest study, closely watched by policymakers as the largest international comparison of education performance.
Compared to when the tests were last conducted in 2018, reading performance fell by 10 points on average in OECD countries, and by 15 points in mathematics, a loss equivalent to three-quarters of a year's worth of learning.
While more than half of the 81 countries surveyed saw declines, Germany, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway and Poland saw particularly sharp drops in mathematics scores, the OECD said.
On average across the OECD, one out of four 15-year-olds tested as a low performer in maths, reading and science, which means they could not use basic algorithms or interpret simple texts, the study found.
"COVID probably played some role but I would not overrate it," OECD director of education Andreas Schleicher told a news conference.
"There are underlying structural factors and they are much more likely to be permanent features of our education systems that policymakers should really take seriously."
Countries that provided extra teacher support during COVID school closures scored better and results were generally better in places where easy teacher access for special help was high.
Poorer results tended to be associated with higher rates of mobile phone use for leisure and where schools reported teacher shortages.
The OECD said the decline was not inevitable, pointing to Singapore, where students scored the highest in maths, reading and science, with results that suggested they were on average three to five years ahead of their OECD peers.
After Singapore, Macau, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea also outperformed in maths and science, where Estonia and Canada also scored well.
In reading, Ireland, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan earned top marks, and was all the more notable in Ireland and Japan because their spending per student was no higher than the OECD average.
Reporting by Leigh Thomas Editing by Bernadette Baum
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
KingKnowles on December 5th, 2023 at 14:24 UTC »
I want non-teachers to know that it isn't just the trash pay and lack of support, but also the intentionally insidious way that the education system/admin treats teachers.
Anecdote: I am licensed to teach Pre-K - 3rd grade general and special education (and not to toot my own horn, but I was consistently rated a highly effective educator). Last school year, I moved into a new position to try to dodge burning out. I applied and accepted a position to teach first and second grade special education - I signed a contract committing me to this school at risk of penalty of losing my license.
When I got my schedule for the school year, I saw I was teaching 3rd-6th special edition AND general 3rd grade math AND general 3rd grade science. When I confronted the principal about the change (into teaching outside of my license!), she said AND I QUOTE "I'm sorry this isn't the position you wanted." I even showed her the emails where we discussed the specific position and where I specifically said I was looking for an early childhood education position and she said "Well this is all I have to offer you." Additionally, this principal blocked my attempts to transfer to another school in the district.
I spent a year trapped in a position I never wanted and wasn't licensed/experienced them. I was constantly set up for failure and then held personally responsible for students' lack of progress. I started to have heart palpitations and ended up being diagnosed with panic attacks. After a year of therapy, I mustered up the courage to stop letting the system abuse and take advantage of me and I quit! I am currently juggling two education related part time positions - I make half as much, but feel 5 times better.
I miss teaching, but I can't exist in the current system.
GraphicgL- on December 5th, 2023 at 14:10 UTC »
Teachers have become enemy #1 amongst parents, and law makers. We pay them poorly and then expect them to play multiple roles with our children. We set them up to fail.
Edit: I just wanted to add that I am a mom to a four-year-old and someone who lives in Oklahoma. Right now our superintendent has put such a war against public education that I am having to consider the possibilities of homeschooling my child for her to receive a proper education that is unaffected by political fodder. I’d rather not do that because I am a strong supporter of public education. I think our teachers are amazing and I have teacher, friends, as well as friends who have up and quit under the leadership We currently have. I also know of parents who are putting binds with their special-needs children because schools lack the funding to assist these kids. I know parents who live in denial of their child behavioral issues and choose to blame the teachers for singling out their kid because they don’t have the resources in financial means to get their child the proper help. I have a friend who it will cost them $1200 to just get their kid tested for ADHD and ASD. The school will not assist much further until he is either tested or medicated and the parents don’t want to medicate until he’s tested But financially $1200 is a big hit and that includes insurance help. I know teachers who spend their Christmas bonuses and whatever financial assistance they get from other means to supply their classroom. I have seen and observed, every single facet of what fuels our children’s love of learning, and I’ve seen what has been a nightmare for those very same children, because of the environment that they have been put into. I’ve seen the 50+ crowd consistently vote Republican because it’s in their blood and because of that it has shifted the way our schools have been handled. I have seen people who don’t even have children in schools dictating how the school should handle the children. I have seen parents who want the schools to fail because they have been convinced that everything their child is learning is going to turn them into a gay liberal hippie. I have seen single parent struggling to keep their kids in school because they’re having to work two jobs because they can’t afford much else. I have seen all of it, it isn’t just a parental issue anymore. It is that we have decided to allow politics and faith to overshadow our schools so heavily that it is created a hostile environment for teachers and students alike. And I simply don’t see a light at the end of the tunnel right now and it’s very unfortunate because teachers are so incredibly vital.
jquickri on December 5th, 2023 at 13:11 UTC »
Read the article people. It's not just tiktok. It's not just COVID. It's supporting teachers. It's always been supporting teachers.
"Countries that provided extra teacher support during COVID school closures scored better and results were generally better in places where easy teacher access for special help was high.
Poorer results tended to be associated with higher rates of mobile phone use for leisure and where schools reported teacher shortages."