Regardless of how we educators view international assessments, Program for International Student Assessment PISA, that was released at the beginning of this month, has highlighted continuum in some global educational concerns, which still require further introspection. PISA, that tests the academic performance of 15-year-old boys and girls in reading, mathematics and science across the globe, sketched some findings that either identify tangible problems or at a higher level, explain the depth of problems, setting plans to solve them.
Data collected from paper-based and computer-based tests, along with questionnaires, were combined with other indicators on a system level, such as countries’ expenditures, time and human resources, education system characteristics, accountability, policies and curriculum, and school choice. These indicators can be elaborated on – countries' GDP, salaries of teachers, actual teaching time, school support staff, starting age and enrollment regulations, school inspections, public and private school boards, bullying, civic education, regulations for parents, financial incentives and disincentives, choice of school, homeschooling, transportation, scholarships, and others. That’s why there is a broad variety of factors to be considered to evaluate the results.
The goal as stated by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development OECD, that has initiated this global test, is to shed the light upon current policies and practices in a growing global community, considering the insecurities and challenges new generations are and will be facing. Predicated on these findings, governors, ministries, and leaders can come to agreements regarding new sets of practices to make learning more effective. PISA has introduced more areas for study related to learners’ beliefs in themselves and in the future they foresee, which are directly related to mental health concerns most societies are facing.
However, the Debris?
The tests administered in 2018 raised big questions to the world, and as far as we are concerned and accountable, we educators should address them:
1. We are working hard and achieving progress, but why are there still long strides to be knowledge-oriented societies?
2. What can be done to raise awareness in the importance of reading, not only for understanding, but for differentiating facts from opinions in our daily reading of articles, and mostly in social media, protecting our mental and emotional security?
3. What steps can we take to implement more open-ended questions, where young readers can “connect the dots”, discarding the unnecessary, and building up on the essential only?
4. What goals can help learners reach stages of sequential decisions and higher levels of reasoning, integrating representations to handle real-world problems, and even be ready to the unexpected complex situations of the future?
5. What are the environments that can better recognize and enhance advanced scientific reasoning, not claims, carrying out the right processes for validating hypotheses of complex matters that might emerge?
6. What can be done in parallel to all the above to maintain learners’ sense of security and stress-free adolescence, which may not be easily done in this age of speed and competitiveness?
7. Why are we underestimating effects of certain skills, mainly artistic and physical skills, that can indirectly contribute to overall learning and positive attitudes, indispensable in effective learning?
It is true that China, Singapore and Estonia recorded the highest levels of reading proficiencies, mathematics, and science. Many countries scored above OECD average, whereas more countries scored much below, but this is not the way to view the results.
Results do satisfy countries’ ranking aspirations and the global competitive spirit, but in education, a learner’s overall benefit should come first. Government and educational bodies are encouraged to reflect upon the feedback that these assessments provide on two main levels – performance in core subjects needed for life- reading, mathematics, and science, and equity in terms of gender, socio-economic conditions. In other words, it is not only about reading, mathematics, and science. Some countries muster efforts, focusing on academics only, ignoring other factors.
Volume III of PISA is “What School Life Means for Students’ Lives” is very important to consider because it sheds the light on what produces skilled and happy adults-to- be! Results from 35 out of 76 countries and economies showed that academic resilience is correlated with general well-being, growth mindset, and support that a learner receives. The assessment analyzed school climate, disciplinary climate, student cooperation, and student competition. It also specified three indicators for well-being: social integration at school, facing failures without self-doubt, and the degree of students’ satisfaction about their lives.
Much of the results showed that disadvantaged learners were negatively impacted by their conditions and their overview of life in general. So, are there solutions? There surely are, but it all depends upon how we envision education:
1. There must be new paradigms to replace the old "teach and test".
2. There must be new paradigms to allow learners to explore and learn with joy.
3. There must be well-planned pruning of subject materials so that learners do not spend years repeating the same concepts through kindergarten and elementary.
4. There must be new ways to address and interact with learners through play, discovery, project-based learning, entrepreneurial and experiential learning, in which development of potential, innovation, conceptual blending, fluid and flexible learning are given space more than “teacher-teaching-book” concept, that is still happening in many countries around the world. More music, art, and design should be integrated in curricula so that meaningful inclusion, equity, stress-free learning, and growth can be spread.
Although tests can never be perfect in determining the well-being of learners around the world due to endless family and community factors, they can still predict matters of concern, setting educators and governments to reflect upon their practices in a fast-growing world and competitive economies.
Education is the base of all other industries and the backbone of families and the growth of countries. It is time that we look upon education in social and emotional terms, too. We have to pinpoint the problems and solve them wisely!
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