By Anna Pons, Project Lead of the OECD Global Teaching InSights and the Schools+ Network.
Anna Pons presented her expertise around the theme “An international perspective on teaching practices” at ESSEC Pedagogical workshop on June 20th 2023. The recording is available here. In this article she discusses the latest PISA results and puts them in perspective of the COVID-19 pandemic and of the use of digital devices and emergence of large language models such as ChatGPT.
On December 5th, the global education community’s attention was focused on the release of the PISA 2022 results. This assessment has become the yardstick to measure what students know and are able to do internationally. About 690 000 students representing about 29 million 15-year-olds from schools in 81 participating countries and economies participated in this edition which focused on mathematics. In particular, the test explored students’ ability to think like a mathematician by formulating, solving, applying and evaluating problems.
The most alarming finding was a significant decline in results, with an unprecedented 15-point drop across OECD countries which is equivalent to more than half a year of schooling. This drop, unmatched since the test’s inception in 2000, might be partly explained by the disruptive impact of the COVID-19 pandemic On a positive note, the socio-economic disparities did not widen, continuing to account for approximately 15% of the variation in results. Overall, only a few countries managed to achieve high levels of quality and equity (Figure 1).
Figure 1. The false trade-off between equity and quality in education
Note: Socio-economic status is measured by the PISA index of economic, social and cultural status.
Source: OECD, PISA 2022 Database.
This decline in educational performance comes at a time when the potential of artificial intelligence is growing exponentially. ChatGPT, one of the most renowned language models, was able to respond to about 90% of reading and 46% of mathematics questions right of a previous PISA test. This underscores the urgency of collectively thinking what humans will be better at and ought to be able to do and, while no one knows what the future holds, to upgrade our systems to mirror our realities and future aspirations rather than inertias from our past.
Those social and emotional skills that are inherently human might be less susceptible to automation, and may hold the key to success in future job markets. Take creativity, for example, which is critical to innovation, whether by refining existing processes or through the generation of novel, groundbreaking ideas that push the boundaries of what is possible. The OECD’s Survey on Social and Emotional Skills found that schools might not be putting enough emphasis on it: levels of creativity and curiosity were significantly lower among 15-year-olds compared to 10-year-olds.
Likewise, resilience and adaptability have become paramount in our fast-paced world. This implies being in a constant state of beta that embraces failure as a learning experience and continuously adjusts and evolves. The PISA results show that individuals with a growth mindset, believing that effort can lead to improvement, tend to perform better than those who believe abilities are fixed from birth. It also underscores the need to support those who have traditionally not been part of the “winners” group, including girls and individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds, as they often exhibit a greater aversion to taking risks.
Developing critical cognitive skills is equally important in navigating the information-rich digital landscape. An alarming finding from PISA 2018, which focused on reading, was that only 9% of students could differentiate facts from opinions. Similarly, few students demonstrated awareness of reading strategies for assessing the credibility of sources. These skills form the foundational elements of critical thinking and deep learning.
Education is behind other sectors in harnessing the potential of digital technology to be a driving force for transformation. Technology is actually a source of distraction and anxiety in many schools. On average, across OECD countries, 65% of students reported being distracted by digital devices during some math lessons, and 45% of students expressed feeling nervous or anxious if their phones were not within reach. Employing technology for procrastination, whether through social media apps, internet browsing, or games, is greatly detrimental to learning (see Figure 2). When technology is used for learning purposes, it does not automatically lead to better performance; rather, its impact depends on whether it is applied in a manner that enhances the quality of teaching and learning.
Figure 2. Use of digital devices and performance in mathematics (OECD Average)
Note: Based on students’ reports; Differences between categories are all statistically significant.
Source: OECD, PISA 2022 Database.
This speaks to the importance of refining teaching practices, which remain the primary driver of student outcomes. It involves not only embracing technology and innovation but also effectively implementing evidence-informed practices. Student feedback is perhaps a case in point. There is strong consensus among researchers that feedback can have a positive impact on students. Yet, feedback is often misunderstood with praising students which does not have near the same impact as concrete and meaningful feedback.
Behavioural research shows that changing deeply ingrained teaching habits is very hard. The fact that teaching still largely remains a lonely job does not help. In the OECD TALIS survey, the prevailing forms of professional collaboration reported by teachers in most school systems tend to be superficial, lacking the open culture of a constructive push and pull that can unleash the full potential of every teacher. Today’s schools are still far from embodying the collaborative learning communities that researchers envision.
Improvements in education rarely come from putting more money or time into the system in OECD countries. In fact, the countries that spent the most or ask students to sit in for longer hours tend to perform worse. Instead, what high performers have in common is a focus on creating environments that nurture those humans behind: students, teachers and school leaders alike. Education is fundamentally a relational activity, and we must not lose sight of it when taking the PISA call or navigating the challenges posed by the digital revolution.