The Global Search for Education: What Germany Did
Feb23

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,...

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The Global Search for Education – What Poland Did
Jan26

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? ...

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The Global Search for Education: What Will Finland Do Next?
Jan14

The Global Search for Education: What Will Finland Do Next?

 “Finnish schools are fear-free places where children don’t need to worry about competition, failure or performance that in many countries are fueled by standardized testing.” — Pasi Sahlberg Photo courtesy of Elvi Rista.  Systematic pursuit of children’s wellbeing and happiness in secure environments takes precedence over measured academic achievements in Finnish schools, according to Pasi Sahlberg,...

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The Global Search for Education: UK on Testing
Jan07

The Global Search for Education: UK on Testing

“The English Baccalaureate has the merits of strengthening the general academic education of lower achieving students and removing useless, mostly quasi-vocational subjects.” — Michael Young   “It is time for the race to the bottom to end.  We believe it is time to tackle grade inflation and dumbing down.” — Michael Gove In the fall of 2012, the British Education Secretary, Michael Gove,...

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The Global Search for Education: On US Education Problems
Dec20

The Global Search for Education: On US Education Problems

 “Providing college tuition-free without getting the money back through taxes for the better educated means that the poor end up subsidizing the education of the rich.” — Andreas Schleicher  According to Andreas Schleicher of OECD, the United States is unique among countries in that the generation of workers entering the US workforce does not have higher college attainment levels than the generation about to...

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