PISA 2018 Results (Volume V): Effective Policies, Successful Schools

Abstract

Prefacegrowth mindset seems consistently associated with students' motivation to master tasks, general self-efficacy, setting learning goals and perceiving the value of school, and negatively associated with their fear of failure.Even if the well-being indicators examined by PISA do not refer specifically to the school context, students who sat the 2018 PISA test cited three main aspects of their lives that influence how they feel: life at school, their relationships with their parents, and how satisfied they are with the way they look.It may be tempting to conclude that performing better in school will necessarily increase anxiety about schoolwork and undermine students' well-being.But countries such as Belgium, Estonia, Finland and Germany show that high performance and a strong sense of well-being can be achieved simultaneously; they set important examples for others.Other countries show that equity and excellence can also be jointly achieved.In Australia, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hong Kong (China), Japan, Korea, Macao (China), Norway and the United Kingdom, for example, average performance was higher than the OECD average while the relationship between socio-economic status and reading performance was weaker than the OECD average.Moreover, one in ten disadvantaged students was able to score in the top quarter of reading performance in their country/economy, indicating that poverty is not destiny.The data also show that the world is no longer divided between rich and well-educated nations and poor and badly educated ones.The level of economic development explains just 28% of the variation in learning outcomes across countries if a linear relationship is assumed between the two.However, it remains necessary for many countries to promote equity with much greater urgency.While students from well-off families will often find a path to success in life, those from disadvantaged families have generally only one single chance in life, and that is a great teacher and a good school.If they miss that boat, subsequent education opportunities will tend to reinforce, rather than mitigate, initial differences in learning outcomes.Against this background, it is disappointing that in many countries a student's or school's post code remains the strongest predictor of their achievement.In Argentina, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Peru, the Slovak Republic and the United Arab Emirates, a typical disadvantaged student has less than a one-in-eight chance of attending the same school as high achievers.Furthermore, in over half of the PISA-participating countries and economies, principals of disadvantaged schools were significantly more likely than those of advantaged schools to report that their school's capacity to provide instruction is hindered by a lack or inadequacy of educational material; and in 31 countries and economies, principals of disadvantaged schools were more likely than those of advantaged ones to report that a lack of teaching staff hinders instruction.In these systems, students face a double disadvantage: one that comes from their home background and another that is created by the school system.There can be numerous reasons why some students perform better than others, but those performance differences should never be related to the social background of students and schools.Clearly, all countries have excellent students, but too few countries have enabled all of their students to excel and fulfill their potential to do so.Achieving greater equity in education is not only a social justice imperative, it is also a way to use resources more effectively, increase the supply of skills that fuel economic growth, and promote social cohesion.For those with the right knowledge and skills, digitalisation and globalisation have been liberating and exciting; for those who are insufficiently prepared, these trends can mean vulnerable and insecure work, and a life with few prospects.Our economies are linked together by global chains of information and goods, but they are also increasingly concentrated in hubs where comparative advantage can be built and renewed.This makes the distribution of knowledge and wealth crucial, and it can only be possible through the distribution of education opportunities.Equipping citizens with the knowledge and skills necessary to achieve their full potential, to contribute to an increasingly interconnected world, and to convert better skills into better lives needs to become a more central preoccupation of policy makers around the world.Fairness, integrity and inclusiveness in public policy thus all hinge on the skills of citizens.In working to achieve these goals, more and more countries are looking beyond their own borders for evidence of the most successful and efficient education policies and practices.PISA is not only the world's most comprehensive and reliable indicator of students' capabilities, it is also a powerful tool that countries and economies can use to fine-