education policy outlook - making reforms happen

11

Education Policy Outlook

Making Reforms Happen

January 2014

Mean mathematics performance, by school location,

after accounting for socio-economic statusFig II.3.322 Education Policy Outlook in Brief

There are common trends from the more than 450 reforms adopted across countries. With the crisis they are becoming more strategic.

Education policy is not only about design. implementation and follow up are vital for success of reforms.

The Outlook aims to support policy makers and others to make reform happen that translates into better education in our schools and classrooms.

Looks at education reforms across 34 OECD countries that can touch the lives of more than 150 million students…


after accounting for socio-economic statusFig II.3.333 It is possible to achieve both equity and quality

Chile

Hungary

Slovak RepublicPortugal Luxembourg

France New Zealand

Belgium

Israel

Germany

TurkeyGreece

Spain

United Kingdom

Czech Republic

Denmark

Slovenia

Ireland

Austria

Switzerland

Poland

United States

Netherlands

EstoniaFinland

Japan

Sweden

Australia Canada

Iceland

Norway

Mexico

Korea

Italy

350

400

450

500

550

600

051015202530

Mea

n m

ath

emat

ics

sco

re

Percentage of variation in performance explained by the PISA index of economic, social and cultural status

OECD

avera

ge

OECD average

Above-average mathematics performanceBelow-average equity in education outcomes

Above-average mathematics performanceAbove-average equity in education outcomes

Below-average mathematics performanceBelow-average equity in education outcomes

Below-average mathematics performanceAbove-average equity in education outcomes

Source: OECD (2013), PISA 2012 Results: Excellence through Equity (Volume II): Giving Every Student the Chance to Succeed, Table II.1.2.


after accounting for socio-economic statusFig II.3.34 We need education policy reforms that improve outcomes

International trade More diverse communities

The digital society

Greater accountability

Focus on equity and quality

Need to invest in education for better outcomes

4

Global trends shape our education systems …


after accounting for socio-economic statusFig II.3.35

5

…at the same time, our education systems today can shape the prosperity of our countries tomorrow…

Better education can shape economic prosperity…Bringing all countries up to theperformance of Finland wouldresult in financial gains ofUSD 260 trillion over the lifetimeof those born in 2010.

Societies with skilled individuals are better prepared to respond to the current and future potential crises...• More educated people contribute to more democratic societies and sustainable

economies, are less dependent on public aid and less vulnerable to economicdownturns.

• Investing in education for all, in particular for children from disadvantagedbackgrounds, is both fair and economically efficient.

Source: OECD, PISA 2012 Database, Figure I.2.23.



Around one in four 15-year-old students does not reach a minimum level of skills, PISA 2012

%

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Me

xico

Turk

ey

Gre

ece

Hu

nga

ry

Slo

vak

Re

pu

blic

Swe

de

n

Un

ite

d S

tate

s

Po

rtu

gal

Ital

y

Luxe

mb

ou

rg

Spai

n

New

Ze

alan

d

Fran

ce

No

rway

OEC

D a

vera

ge…

Ice

lan

d

Cze

ch R

ep

ub

lic

Au

stra

lia

Bel

giu

m

Au

stri

a

Ger

man

y

Ire

lan

d

Den

mar

k

Ne

the

rlan

ds

Po

lan

d

Can

ada

Swit

zerl

and

Fin

lan

d

Jap

an

Ko

rea

% of students below proficiency Level 2 Percentage of students below Level 2 in 2012 Percentage of students below Level 2 in 2003

Source: OECD (2014), Education at a Glance 2014: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris, Table A1.2a.



The share of students not completing upper secondary education remains high

0

20

40

60

80

100

Mex

ico

Turk

eyP

ort

uga

lSp

ain

Ital

yIc

elan

dC

hile

1N

ew Z

eala

nd

Den

mar

kB

elgi

um

No

rway

OEC

D a

vera

geG

reec

eN

eth

erla

nd

sFr

ance

Un

ited

Kin

gdo

mIr

elan

dLu

xem

bo

urg

Esto

nia

Au

stra

liaG

erm

any

Hu

nga

ryA

ust

ria

Un

ited

Sta

tes

Swit

zerl

and

Fin

lan

dIs

rael

Swe

den

Can

ada

Cze

ch R

epu

blic

Slo

vak

Rep

ub

licSl

ove

nia

Po

lan

dK

ore

a

% 25-34 55-64

Source: OECD (2014), Education at a Glance 2014: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris, Table B1.5a.


after accounting for socio-economic statusFig II.3.388 Expenditure in education has continued to increase

80

90

100

110

120

130

Ch

ile

Slo

vak

Rep

ub

lic3

Ko

rea

Po

lan

d2

Cze

ch R

epu

blic

Can

ada3

Au

stra

lia

Ger

man

y

Isra

el

Swit

zerl

and

2

Po

rtu

gal2

Mex

ico

Un

ited

Kin

gdo

m

Fin

lan

d

Swed

en

OEC

D a

vera

ge

Net

her

lan

ds

Au

stri

a

Jap

an3

No

rway

1

Un

ited

Sta

tes

Irel

and

2

Be

lgiu

m

Slo

ven

ia

Fran

ce

Spai

n

Esto

nia

1

Icel

and

Den

mar

k3

Ital

y2

Hu

nga

ry1

, 2

Index of change (2008=100)

Change in expenditure

Change in the number of students (in full-time equivalents)

Change in expenditure per student

Change in expenditure in primary, secondary post-secondary non-tertiary education, 2008-2011


after accounting for socio-economic statusFig II.3.399 But it is how it is spent that counts

Source: OECD (2013),PISA 2012 Results: What Makes Schools Successful (Volume IV): Resources, Policies and Practices, Figure IV.1.8.

Slovak Republic

Czech Republic

Estonia

Israel

Poland

Korea

Portugal

New Zealand

Canada

Germany

Spain

France

Italy

FinlandJapan

Slovenia

Ireland

Iceland

Netherlands

Sweden

Belgium

United Kingdom

Australia

Denmark

United States

Austria

Norway

Switzerland

Luxembourg

Turkey

Mexico

Chile

Hungary

R² = 0.00

400

450

500

550

600

0 50 000 100 000 150 000 200 000

Mat

he

mat

ics

pe

rfo

rman

ce o

n P

ISA

20

12

Average spending per student from the age of 6 to 15 (USD, PPPs)

Spending per student and average math performance, PISA 2012



10

With the crisis, countries’ education policies are focusing on what matters…

Countries see education as a solution to the economic crisis and beyond…

and are investing in education by…

Students: Targeting policies to specific disadvantaged groups and making VET and tertiary education more relevant to labour market needs.

Institutions: Investing in improving the teaching profession and curriculum as well as developing more system evaluation and student assessments.

System: Setting clear policy priorities with concrete objectives or using funding strategically.


after accounting for socio-economic statusFig II.3.31111 There are clear common policy trends across countries

Key policies implemented across OECD countries by policy lever, 2008-14(based on countries’ self reports)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Equity andquality

Preparingstudents for the

future

Schoolimprovement

Evaluation andassessment

Governance Funding

%

Students: Raising Outcomes

Institutions: Enhancing quality

Systems: Governing effectively


after accounting for socio-economic statusFig II.3.312 Making effective reforms happen is key

12

Funding

grants

Subsidies for

disadvantaged

schoolsReforms in

school leadership

and teachers

Support to

students

from specific

populations

Setting national

priorities for

education

New middle

school reformNational

commitment to

ECEC

School

improvement

VET

reforms

Teacher training

reform

OECD countries are using different policy options to improve their education systems…

School

evaluation

reform

Student

funding

But only around 1 in 10 reported evaluation to gauge impact



13

Students: Raising Outcomes

1) Investing in equity and quality (16% of reforms reported):

Targeting policies to specific disadvantaged groups (e.g. New

Zealand, England, France), and investing early on in ECEC

(e.g. Australia, Poland and Korea).

2) Preparing students for the future (29% of reforms reported):

Focusing on VET (e.g. Portugal, Denmark and Sweden) & tertiary

education (e.g. Belgium, Fl. & Hungary).



0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

Esto

nia

Ice

lan

dK

ore

aTu

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yN

orw

ayC

anad

aM

exi

coU

nit

ed

Kin

gdo

mFi

nla

nd

Ital

ySw

ed

en

Jap

anN

eth

erl

and

sU

nit

ed

Sta

tes

Slo

ven

iaG

ree

ceSw

itze

rlan

dIr

ela

nd

Au

stra

liaO

ECD

ave

rage

Po

lan

dSp

ain

Cze

ch R

ep

ub

licP

ort

uga

lA

ust

ria

De

nm

ark

Ch

ileLu

xem

bo

urg

Ge

rman

yB

elg

ium

Isra

el

Fran

ceN

ew

Ze

alan

dH

un

gary

Slo

vak

Re

pu

blic

Ratio

Increased likelihood of students in the bottom quarter of the ESCS index scoring in the bottom quarter of the mathematicsperformance distribution

Increased likelihood of immigrant students scoring in the bottom quarter of the mathematics performance distribution

OECD average

Students from disadvantaged or diverse backgrounds face higher risk of low performance

Source: OECD, PISA 2012 Database, Table II.2.4a and Table II.3.4a.

New Zealand: Policies to support Māori

/Pasifika populations (2008-13)

Finland: National Core Curriculumfor Instruction Preparing Immigrants

for Basic Education (2009)

France/Portugal:Education Priority Zones

Chile: Law on Preferential

Subsidies (2008)

Austria: New middle

school reform

Germany: National Action Plan

on Integration (2011)

ECEC:Poland, Korea, Australia, Italy,

Nordic Countries, Slovenia, United States….

UK England:Pupil premium


after accounting for socio-economic statusFig II.3.31515 Prioritising vocational education and training (VET)

0

20

40

60

80

100

Can

ada

Me

xico

Ko

rea

Jap

anH

un

gary

Ne

w Z

eal

and

Ch

ileIr

ela

nd

Gre

ece

Ice

lan

dEs

ton

iaU

nit

ed

Kin

gdo

mIs

rae

lP

ort

uga

lTu

rke

y1Fr

ance

Spai

nO

ECD

ave

rage

De

nm

ark

Po

lan

dG

erm

any

Swe

de

nA

ust

ralia

No

rway

Ital

yLu

xem

bo

urg

Swit

zerl

and

Slo

ven

iaN

eth

erl

and

sFi

nla

nd

Slo

vak

Re

pu

blic

Cze

ch R

ep

ub

licB

elg

ium

Au

stri

a

% General Pre-vocational Vocational

Enrolment of upper secondary students in pre-vocational or vocational programmes

Denmark: VET with academic exam(2010); Better More attra

ctive VET (2014)

Portugal: National Integrated Strategy(2012-14)

Italy: Governance & Higher Technical

Institutes (2011)

New Zealand: Trades Academies(2009)

Germany: Information & transitions into Tertiary

Japan: Guidelines for enhancing provision

Luxembourg: VET Reform (2008)

Canada: Apprenticeship grants (2007-)



16

Institutions: Enhancing quality

3) Supporting school improvement (24% of reforms reported):

Investing heavily in improving the teaching profession (e.g. Finland, France) and revising curricula (Scotland (UK), Japan , Finland)

4) Strengthening evaluation and assessment (12% of reforms reported): Developing more system evaluation (e.g. Italy) & student assessments (e.g. Australia).

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Kore

a

Fin

land

Me

xic

o

Alb

ert

a (

Can

ada

)

Fla

nde

rs (

Belg

ium

)

Ne

therl

and

s

Austr

alia

Engla

nd

(U

K)

Isra

el

Un

ite

d S

tate

s

Ch

ile

Ave

rage

No

rwa

y

Japa

n

De

nm

ark

Pola

nd

Icela

nd

Esto

nia

Bra

zil

Ita

ly

Czech R

epu

blic

Port

ug

al

Spain

Sw

ede

n

Fra

nce

Slo

vak R

epub

lic

Perc

en

tag

e o

f te

ach

ers



Improving the quality and delivery of education in schools

17

Percentage of lower secondary teachers who "agree" or "strongly agree" that teaching profession is a valued profession in society, TALIS 2014

17

Netherlands:Teachers’ Programme

2013-20 (2013)

Australia: Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (2010)

Finland: OSAAVA programme

(2010-16)

New Zealand: Teacher standards and Registered

Teacher Criteria (2010-13)

United States: Teacher Quality Partnership

Programme (2012)

France: Reform of teacher training

programmes (2013)

Korea: Evaluation system

(2010) Mexico: Teacher Professional

Service (2013)


after accounting for socio-economic statusFig II.3.318 Developing learning environments18

Students reports of teacher student relations and classrooms conduciveness to learning, PISA 2012

18

-0.5-0.4-0.3-0.2-0.1

00.10.20.30.40.50.60.70.8

Mex

ico

Po

rtu

gal

Can

ada

Icel

and

Un

ited

Sta

tes

Ch

ile

Turk

ey

Un

ited

Kin

gdo

m

Den

mar

k

Au

stra

lia

Swit

zerl

and

New

Zea

lan

d

Swed

en

Isra

el

Irel

and

OEC

D a

vera

ge

Spai

n

Hu

nga

ry

Luxe

mb

ou

rg

Esto

nia

Fin

lan

d

Be

lgiu

m

Ko

rea

Gre

ece

No

rway

Au

stri

a

Net

her

lan

ds

Ital

y

Cze

ch R

epu

blic

Jap

an

Fran

ce

Slo

vak

Rep

ub

lic

Ger

man

y

Slo

ven

ia

Po

lan

d

Mean index

Index of teacher-student relations Index of disciplinary climate

Japan: Course of Study

UK: Curriculum for Excellence (Scotland), and National

Literacy and Numeracy (Wales, 2013)

Slovenia: Updated curricula

(2012)

Denmark: National Common Objectives (2009)

Finland: Curriculum reform (2014)

Italy: Curriculum guidelines

(2012)

Sweden: New curriculum

(2011)

France: Redistribution of learning time

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

OEC

D

Gre

ece

10

0

Po

rtu

gal

10

0

Net

her

lan

ds

99

Po

lan

d 9

9

Fran

ce 9

7

Bel

giu

m 9

7

Ger

man

y 9

6

Can

ada

10

0

Spai

n 9

9

Au

stri

a 9

6

Luxe

mb

ou

rg 9

5

Slo

vak

Rep

ub

lic…

Fin

lan

d 9

9

Slo

ven

ia 9

8

Mex

ico

99

Jap

an 9

9

Ch

ile 1

00

Ital

y 9

9

Swit

zerl

and

94

Esto

nia

99

Isra

el

10

0

Cze

ch R

epu

blic

93

New

Ze

alan

d 1

00

OEC

D a

vera

ge 9

8

Hu

nga

ry

94

Un

ited

Kin

gdo

m…

Au

stra

lia

10

0

Irel

and

1

00

Un

ited

Sta

tes

9

9

Ko

rea

95

Turk

ey

97

Swed

en

94

Icel

and

1

00

Den

mar

k

99

No

rway

9

8

%

To make decisions about students’ retention or promotion %To monitor the school’s progress from year to yearTo identify aspects of instruction or the curriculum that could be improved

→

Source: OECD, PISA 2012 Database, Table IV.5.5. OECD, PISA 2012 Database, Table IV.5.6.

Most common uses of student assessments according to school principals (2012)



Enhancing evaluation and assessment to improve student outcomes

Australia: NAPLAN Student assessment, My

School, My Skills and My University

Chile: National Quality of Education Agency

National Standardised Assessments: Austria; Czech Republic; Denmark; Ireland;

Italy, Spain, Sweden, UK (Wales

Norway: Assessment forLearning (2010)



20

Systems: Governing effectively

5) Steering policy setting priorities and funding effectively :

Setting clear policy priorities (9%) (e.g. Denmark) with concrete

objectives or using funding strategically (11%) (e.g. Germany, United States).


after accounting for socio-economic statusFig II.3.32121 Steering education systems towards higher performance

Increasingly complex policy-making environments

Central

Austria

Czech RepublicFrance

Greece

HungaryIsrael

Italy

LuxembourgPortugal

Turkey

Central with local

ChileDenmark

Estonia

FinlandIceland

Japan

KoreaNorway

Poland

Slovak RepublicSlovenia

Sweden

Central with schools

IrelandNetherlandsNew Zealand

Shared central agreed with regional

MexicoSpain

Decentralised

AustraliaCanadaBelgiumGermanySwitzerlandUnited KingdomUnited States


after accounting for socio-economic statusFig II.3.32222 Steering education systems towards higher performance

Increasingly complex policy-making environments

Central

Austria

Czech RepublicFrance

Greece

HungaryIsrael

Italy

LuxembourgPortugal

Turkey

Central with local

ChileDenmark

Estonia

FinlandIceland

Japan

KoreaNorway

Poland

Slovak RepublicSlovenia

Sweden

Central with schools

IrelandNetherlandsNew Zealand

Shared central agreed with regional

MexicoSpain

Decentralised

AustraliaCanadaBelgiumGermanySwitzerlandUnited KingdomUnited States

Many countries defined general education strategies or priorities

Estonia:LLL strategy 2014-2010

Denmark:Denmark that stands together (2011); Folkeskole reform (20

13)Mexico:

Pact for Mexico 2012); Constitutional Reform (2012-13)Canada:

Learn Canada 2020 (2008)

Source: OECD (2014), Education at a Glance 2014: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris, Table B1.5a.



Funding education systems: system, institutions and

students

Change in expenditure in tertiary education

80

90

100

110

120

130

140

150

Esto

nia

1

Slo

vak

Re

pu

blic

3

Ch

ile

Hu

nga

ry1

, 2

Ko

rea

Cze

ch R

ep

ub

lic

Fin

lan

d

Slo

ven

ia

Den

mar

k3

Isra

el

Jap

an3

Un

ite

d K

ingd

om

Ital

y

Po

lan

d2

OEC

D a

vera

ge

Ne

ther

lan

ds

Swit

zerl

and

1, 2

Fran

ce

Swe

de

n

Ge

rman

y

Au

stra

lia

Spai

n

No

rway

1

Me

xico

Be

lgiu

m

Po

rtu

gal2

Au

stri

a

Un

ite

d S

tate

s

Irel

and

2

Ice

lan

d

Index of change (2008 = 100) Chile:

Scholarships and subsidies (2912)

Ireland: Bursary Scheme (2012)

US: Pell Grant (2008); Tax Credit (2009)…

Japan: Scholarships Loan Programme

(2912)

Influenced by the education structure,

policy agenda and specific challenges

Varied political and

historical approaches

to policy making

Evaluation of policies and/or follow-up is limited

Varying duration

and type, and a

degree of overlap

24 Highlighting common characteristics across policies

About 450 policies

across 6 policy levers

24

OECD countries have made

education reform happen.


after accounting for socio-economic statusFig II.3.325 Making effective reforms happen

25

School

improvementEquity and quality

Preparing students for

the future

Evaluation and

assessment

Governance

Funding

Next steps: to make them

work for all and for good.

Mean mathematics performance, by school location, after accounting for

socio-economic statusFig II.3.32626

Key factors for effective implementation of

education policy

Placing the student and

learning at the centre

Capacity-building

Leadership and

coherence

Policy evaluation

Reforms are specific to country’s

education system context

Stakeholder

engagement

No single model for success in the implementation of education reforms

Education Policy Trends

• Policy options across different policy levers

Implementation of Reforms

• Key factors to support effective implementation

Country Snapshots

• 34 individual country reform stories

The Education Policy Outlook reviews trends and implementation to help make the policy choices

#[email protected]

www.oecd.com/edu/policyoutlook.htm27

Mean mathematics performance, by school location, after accounting for

socio-economic statusFig II.3.328

Searching for policies adopted across OECD countries

28

Education Policy Outlook Reforms Finder

contains policies analysed in report from 2008 to 2014:

http://www.oecd.org/edu/reformsfinder.htm

http://www.oecd.org/edu/reformsfinder.htm

Find out more about the Education Policy Outlook Series at

www.oecd.com/edu/policyoutlook.htm

#OECDEPO

29

Photo and illustration credits

Cover slide © SashaChebotarev/Shutterstock

Slide 6 ©Tatiana Popova/Shutterstock

Slide 4 © Sergey Nivens/Shutterstock

© Cienpies Design/Shutterstock

© Andrey_Kuzmin/Shutterstock

education policy outlook - making reforms happen

Education

education reforms

education policy reforms

advantage of education

mean mathematics performance

high performance

equity levels

different performance

oecd countries