Today the OECD will issue their findings for the PISA 2025
results, embargoed until midnight.
Please see below the briefing points from the Department for
Education on England's performance in the latest round of
assessment, with a reflection on our position and response.
Key points
- England's strong PISA performance gives us a strong academic
foundation to build from. Pupils continue to perform
significantly above the OECD average in reading, maths and
science, with England's science performance at its highest since
2012.
- These results reflect decades of reform to raise academic
standards, alongside the excellence of England's schools and
teachers. We want to build on the stability and keep driving up
standards for every child. In our first year, RISE teams have
strengthened how schools work together and targeted support where
performance is weakest.
- But strong results are not an argument for standing still.
While England performs well compared to other countries, in
reading and maths our children's scores in PISA assessments
haven't improved in ten years. We don't want to go up in the
international league tables solely because other countries are
declining. Other countries have continued to improve despite the
pandemic, while too many young people here are still being left
behind. We should build on England's strengths while learning
from the best international evidence.
- Broadening vocational education does not mean lowering
academic standards. We want to continue to build strong
foundations in English, maths and science for all children while
creating more rigorous, respected vocational routes into further
study and work.
- The international evidence shows this is not a choice between
academic and vocational excellence. High-performing systems
including Estonia and Switzerland combine strong academic
outcomes with high-quality technical and vocational routes.
- So our direction is about adding to England's strengths, not
dismantling them. We want to keep driving up academic standards
for every child, alongside high-quality vocational pathways,
stronger employer links and clearer routes into skilled work.
Additional lines
- The current system is still not delivering for every young
person. There are 981,000 16 to 24-year-olds not in education,
employment or training, while nearly 58,000 18-year-olds are
estimated to receive no results because they have dropped out of
education and training.
- Strong academic foundations remain essential. Young people
who do not achieve five GCSEs are three times more likely to
become NEET than those who do but Alan Milburn's interim review
also found strong evidence that vocational education,
apprenticeships and work-based learning can help young people at
risk of becoming NEET.
- Estonia shows academic and vocational excellence can coexist.
It scored 510 in maths, 511 in reading and 526 in science in PISA
2022, while around 25% of upper-secondary students are enrolled
in vocational education. Its experience demonstrates that
developing strong technical routes need not come at the expense
of academic performance.
- Switzerland provides another example: around two-thirds of
young people enter vocational education, predominantly through
employer-led apprenticeships, while it remains above the OECD
average in PISA.
- High-quality technical education is already delivering here.
This year 19,665 students received T Level results, with a 92.6%
pass rate and more than two-thirds achieving a merit or above.
- This is about building on what works: continuing to improve
on the academic standards built over decades while learning from
other high-performing systems to give more young people rigorous
routes to success.
- UK also performs less well comparatively when it comes to the
value children place on school and their sense of belonging. We
reject any idea of a trade-off between high standards and
enjoying school or understanding its purpose. A greater sense of
belonging has been linked to improved outcomes, and our reforms
will ensure future generations perform well while also feeling
connected to and enjoying school.
