The use (and misuse) of PISA in guiding policy reform: the case of Spain

Abstract

In 2013 Spain introduced a series of educational reforms explicitly inspired by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2012 results. These reforms were mainly implemented in secondary education -based upon the assumption that this is where Spain's educational problems lie. This paper questions this assumption by attempting to identify the point where Spanish children fall behind young people in other developed countries. Specifically, by drawing data from multiple international assessments, we are able to explore how cross-national differences in reading skills change as children age. Consideration is given to both the average level of achievement and the evolution of educational inequalities. Our conclusion is that policymakers have focused their efforts on the wrong part of the education system; educational achievement is low in Spain (and educational inequalities large) long before children enter secondary school. This study therefore serves as a note of caution against simplistic interpretation of the PISA rankings.

The Evolution of Educational Inequalities in Spain: Dynamic Evidence from Repeated Cross-Sections

“…These results stress the importance of early intervention for improving performance during compulsory secondary education and for tackling educational inequalities. They also seem to indicate, in line with Choi and Jerrim (2016), that it would have been desirable that the 2013 education reform act passed in Spain -our results refer to 2012-should have put more emphasis on reforming lower levels of the education system, where most problems seem to concentrate. For example, extending compulsory education to early childhood and introducing targeted measures at the primary school level may at the same time help enhance academic performance and reduce educational gaps.…”

“…These reforms were drawn up on very little solid evidence and, although Choi and Jerrim (2016) 2 provide an initial analysis from a comparative perspective (their results appearing to indicate that educational inequalities emerge long before children enter secondary school), further research is needed to clarify what are critical questions for policymakers. Indeed, previous studies have shown the existence of important educational inequalities at different stages of the Spanish educational system.…”

Trends in International PISA Scores over Time: Which Countries Are Actually Improving?

“…On the other hand, countries that do not live up to the high educational performance of top-performing countries are heavily criticized, both within their own countries and by other nations, resulting in their education systems being labeled as "declining", "lagging", or "deteriorating" (Takayama 2008;Dobbins and Martens 2012;Hanushek et al 2013). Patterns of "PISA shock" have been observed in many countries that either underperformed relative to other high-performing countries or dropped in their PISA rankings, including Denmark (Egelund 2008), France (Dobbins and Martens 2012), Germany (Ertl 2006), Israel (Feniger et al 2012), Japan (Takayama 2008), Spain (Choi and Jerrim 2016), Turkey (Gür et al 2012), the United Kingdom (Department for Education 2013), and the United States (Duncan 2013). As a result of "PISA shock", many countries have been motivated to significantly improve their rankings on future PISA examinations (Dobbins and Martens 2012;Gür et al 2012;Department for Education 2013;Duncan 2013).…”

Influencias transnacionales en las políticas educativas: los modelos de evaluación del sistema escolar en México y España

“…Siguiendo, por tanto, la tónica internacional, tanto México como España se han incorporado a la tendencia de evaluar los resultados de sus sistemas educativos (Bonilla, 2003;Choi y Jerrim, 2016;Lockheed, 2013). Bajo los postulados de la nueva gestión pública, la evaluación se presenta como una herramienta de Revista Ibero-americana de Educação, vol.…”