BEING WORLD CLASS MATTERS!

“In 2015, almost one in two students – representing around 12 million 15-year-olds – was not able to complete even basic reading, mathematics or science tasks1 in the global test known as PISA (the Programme for International Student Assessment) – and these were students living in 70 high- and middle-income countries that participated in the test. Over the past decade, there has been virtually no improvement in the learning outcomes of students in the Western world, even though expenditure on schooling rose by almost 20% during this period. In many countries, the quality of the education a student acquires can best be predicted by the student’s or his or her school’s postal code....  change can be an uphill struggle. Young people are less likely to invest their time and energy in better education if that education seems irrelevant to the demands of the “real” world. Businesses are less likely to invest in their employees’ lifelong learning if those workers might move away for a better job. And policy makers are more likely to prioritise the urgent over the important – even if the latter includes education, an investment in the future well-being of society.... in most countries we can find excellence in education in some of the most disadvantaged schools. And consider that many of today’s leading education systems have only recently attained these top positions. So it can be done.
And it must be done. Without the right education, people will languish on the margins of society, countries will not be able to benefit from technological advances, and those advances will not translate into social progress. We simply cannot develop fair and inclusive policies and engage all citizens if a lack of education prevents people from fully participating in society.”
ANDREAS SCHLEICHER ‘WORLD CLASS How to build a 21st-century school system’