Responding to the OECD's latest PISA (Programme for International
Student Assessment) results, Paul
Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders' union NAHT, said:
“The pandemic has undoubtedly had some impact on these results.
But after a decade in which investment in our schools has been
nowhere near what is needed and they are struggling with a
growing recruitment and retention crisis, it is notable that the
OECD also highlights the effect of other underlying issues facing
education systems. The dedication of schools in helping pupils
through this difficult time and its aftermath hasn’t been matched
by the level of government ambition or investment required.
“While international comparisons can be interesting and useful,
we have to be very careful not to over-interpret these results.
The value in studies like PISA are the questions they raise for
policy-makers, but rankings or league tables are unhelpful and
can be misleading if we’re not careful. We of course should be
keen to learn from other nations - that requires a deep
understanding of different systems and not just simplistic
comparisons. We also need to factor in that different nations
will be at different stages of education policy development, and
that can influence the results too.
"It is important that politicians and policy makers remain
inquisitive about these results, rather than using them for
political ends.”
