Positive PISA results welcomed

WALES’ Minister for Education, Kirsty Williams has welcomed the nation’s significant improvement in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) study.
PISA is a worldwide study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in member and non-member nations intended to evaluate educational systems by measuring 15-year-old school pupils’ scholastic performance on mathematics, science, and reading in PISA.
The PISA assessment is regarded, with some misgivings among educational experts, as a guide to education policies’ performance across 79 participating countries.
For the first time since Wales began participating separately in the PISA studies, Wales has caught up with the international average in all subjects. The results record Wales’ best ever scores in reading and maths and improvement in science
Kirsty Williams said: “For the first time, Wales is in the international mainstream, thanks to the efforts of our teachers and students.
“We have caught up, we are continuing to improve in all areas and, as a nation, we must be determined to keep up this momentum.
“This is positive for teachers, parents and students and the nation as a whole, but not perfect.
“We can go further still.”
Following the 2015 results, the Education Minister set a challenge to improve the proportion of top-performing learners.
The number of high performing students in reading rose from 3% in 2015 to 7% in 2018, with a 4% to 7% increase in maths and a 4% to 5% increase in science.
Wales saw an improvement in its ranking compared to other participating nations.
Kirsty Williams added: “Today’s news is positive for our young people and education system. We are continuing to improve in all areas and we’ve got more top performers than ever before.
“Our increase in high-performers is a big step forward. It’s a culture change for Wales. But there’s still more to do, as we’re not quite at the OECD average for this aspect yet.
“Not only have our overall scores gone up, but we’ve also reduced the attainment gap. We can be proud that in Wales we truly partner equity with excellence.
“We are heading in the right direction with our reforms. Our National Mission has charted the right course. The OECD is telling us to move forward with confidence.
“That’s why we are delivering the biggest ever investment in our teachers, have developed the biggest ever professional learning programme and are striding ahead with our new curriculum.”
UCAC, the Welsh education union, has called for all concerned to make wise use of the data.
Dilwyn Roberts-Young, UCAC General Secretary said “This year’s PISA results provide a wealth of information about various aspects of our education system. The headlines are comparatively encouraging – and everyone concerned is to be congratulated on that. However, we must be careful to go beyond the headlines.
“It appears that some of the reforms that have already been implemented are beginning to pay off. But we must remember that the major reforms to the curriculum, assessment arrangements and accountability systems have yet to be put in action. We now need to concentrate on effectively implementing those reforms over the coming years if they are to help us on our journey towards improving education for all in Wales.
“The report draws attention to concerns about pupils’ wellbeing – with higher than average levels being reported of feeling miserable or worried. Also, schools in Wales were more likely to report that insufficiencies of physical resources – especially textbooks and ICT equipment – were hampering their efforts.
“UCAC strongly believes that we need to keep to the reform route that we have set, whilst ensuring sufficient levels of funding, resources and time for teachers. Alongside those reforms, we need to continue and expand our efforts to support the wellbeing of everyone within our school communities.”
Commenting on the results in Wales in the 2018 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), Eithne Hughes, Director of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) Cymru, said: “PISA results have not been kind to Wales in the past, and this latest set of results is a real boost at a time when we are introducing a transformational new curriculum in Wales. We are delighted that performance in maths has continued an upward trend and with the recognition that Wales is roughly in line with the OECD average in reading, science and maths.
“Of course, we want to do a good deal better than this in the future and our national ambition is to make our education system among the very best in the world.
“We would always caution people against over-claiming or over-blaming any one factor on the difference in results between countries. PISA is just one measure of an education system and cannot possibly tell the full story about our schools.
“However, today’s results are a positive step forward, and we extend our congratulations to our students and teachers.”
David Evans, Wales Secretary of the National Education Union, said: “Pisa offers some benchmarking against other countries but it is only one measure of performance and we would do well to avoid any suggestion that a Pisa ranking is the ‘be all and end all’ of a country’s educational performance. It is not!
“This years’ results clearly show that Wales has improved in all 3 areas tested and we know that the Welsh Government has set a target for the next round of tests that will place our results above the OECD average if achieved. We are confident that our members’ professionalism and desire to provide the best education service will bring improvements in every performance measure but are conscious that we need to ensure that our priorities for youngsters in our schools are the correct ones.
“Providing the necessary resources and tools to embed the new curriculum in Wales has to be a primary focus which will reap its own rewards. That and striving to secure pupil happiness and wellbeing should be the emphasis for the Welsh Government going forward.”