The Global Search for Education: What Germany Did
“The results that were above the OECD average in the PISA 2012 test could also be interpreted as good feedback to the schools – students, teachers, principals and the parents – that their efforts were necessary and successful.” – Elfriede Ohrnberger Germany’s poor performance in the 2000 PISA test surprised and concerned the relevant stakeholders in that country. By 2012, scores in mathematics,...
The Global Search for Education: What Israel Did
“The convergence of different studies showing steady improvement indicates that indeed a real change in teaching and learning has occurred and students have improved.”– Michal Beller Israel is among the group of countries that made the largest improvement in all subject matters in the PISA test since the year 2000. The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), a triennial international survey, aims to...
The Global Search for Education – What Poland Did
“The crucial difference between Poland and many other countries is that we focus on providing the same comprehensive curriculum to students until the age of 16 and ensuring that nearly all students finish upper secondary school.” – Maciej Jakubowski What were the education reforms that enabled the improvement of Polish students’ 2012 PISA test results from far below the OECD average to the European top? ...
The Global Search for Education: The World Test?
“The more important questions that countries have to ask themselves are why they are comparing with one another and what they are doing with the findings to improve the education of their children. Countries should take PISA results as a useful reference, not as a report card.” – Pak Tee Ng The Program of International Student Assessment (PISA) is an exam given every three years to 15 year olds around the...
The Global Search for Education: Change Leaders — Leon Botstein
“No matter what the technology, the learning is about face to face. The crude analogy I would make is between learning and sex. Technology can greatly improve, broaden and diversify what we define as the sexual experience, but in the end it’s about intimacy and human contact in real time.” — Leon Botstein A speech from Bard College’s President Leon Botstein is an enlightening conclusion to a...
The Global Search for Education: School Performance
“Schools are driven to place too much emphasis on test scores that capture what can easily be measured. In doing so, they neglect other important skills and qualities that are difficult to quantify.” — Andy Hargreaves A new report, Data-Driven Improvement and Accountability, authored by Boston College professors Andy Hargreaves and Henry Braun, offers recommendations for establishing more effective systems and...
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