Preschool and school

About Statistics Publications & Documents Information by Country

All that money can’t buy

16-Feb-2012

We can now add something else to the growing list of things money alone can’t buy: love, happiness–and strong performance in PISA. Results from PISA 2009 show that there is a threshold beyond which a country’s wealth is unrelated to its overall score in PISA.

Education: Reduce school failure to boost equity and growth, says OECD

09-Feb-2012

09/02/2012 - Governments should invest more in disadvantaged schools and students to ensure that everyone gets a fair chance, according to a new OECD report. Equity and Quality in Education: Supporting Disadvantaged Students and Schools says that helping those in need would reduce school failure, boost economic growth and contribute to a fairer society.

"Tackling inequity" by Barbara Ischinger, Director - OECD Directorate for Education

09-Feb-2012

What struck me most about the international roundtable on early childhood education and care that I attended late last month in Oslo was the simple fact that this topic attracted such intense interest. It probably wouldn’t have happened a decade ago. The fact that it’s happening now, even as most of the countries represented at the meeting are in the midst of an economic crisis, is an encouraging sign. It shows that more governments understand that equity of opportunity has to begin in the first years of life in order to give everyone a fair chance to succeed later on.

Improving equity in education: a critical challenge

31-Jan-2012

by Ben Levin, Professor University of Toronto and Canada Research Chair in Education Leadership and Policy

Improving equity in student outcomes remains a critical challenge for every country in the OECD.  Even those countries with the lowest levels of inequity must still be concerned with gaps in outcomes that are not related to students’ motivation and capacity, while in other countries the inequities are so large as to pose a fundamental challenge to ongoing security and prosperity.

OECD Reviews of Evaluation and Assessment in Education: Czech Republic

30-Jan-2012

The country reports in this series provide, from an international perspective, an independent analysis of major issues facing the evaluation and assessment framework, current policy initiatives, and possible future approaches. This series forms part of the OECD Review on Evaluation and Assessment Frameworks for Improving School Outcomes.

"Early Childhood Education and Care: a priority investment" by Kristin Halvorsen, Minister of Education, Norway

23-Jan-2012

As Minister of Education in Norway I am happy to be hosting the OECD roundtable conference Starting Strong: Implementing policies for high-quality Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC). Providing all children with high quality early childhood education and care is an investment in the future and provides a great benefit for both the individual and society

Starting Strong III: A Quality Toolbox for ECEC - online version

20-Jan-2012

The Quality Toolbox is intended to present "practical solutions" for anyone with a role to play in encouraging quality in ECEC. It presents five policy levers that are likely to enhance quality, underpinned by the international research base and country experience.

Strong Performers and Successful Reformers in Education - A video series profiling policies and practices of education systems that demonstrate high or improving performance in the PISA tests

20-Jan-2012

In today’s global economy, countries need high-quality education systems that will teach their citizens the skills necessary to meet the challenges of tomorrow. This series of videos, produced jointly by the OECD and the Pearson Foundation, highlights initiatives being taken by education authorities around the world to help school students do better.

Starting Strong: what should children learn?

10-Jan-2012

While it is important for children to be just children, the early years are also especially formative and important for children to develop skills and competencies. The importance and value of good quality care and education for children is becoming increasingly clear, and have shown to impact things as diverse as creativity and life-time earnings.

Making education reform happen

03-Jan-2012

This is the time of year when a lot of us resolve to commit ourselves to self-improvement plans of greater or lesser magnitude. Spend more time reading? On the list. Eat better? Ditto. Reform the education system? Whoa—nice idea; but isn’t that a bit too ambitious? What is it about education reform that all-too-often turns resolve into sighs and resignation? If countries really want to keep that resolution, here’s a suggestion: invite teachers to get involved