This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-25187997

The article has changed 12 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 3 Version 4
Global school tables: UK expected to lag behind Asia Shanghai tops global school tests, UK 'stagnates'
(35 minutes later)
International league tables comparing school standards are expected to show the UK is failing to catch up high-performing countries in Asia. Shanghai in China is moving further ahead as the world's top performing education system, with first place in tests in maths, reading and science.
The results of Pisa tests, assessing teenagers in reading, science and maths, will be published on Tuesday. For the first time, the UK does not make the top 20 in any subject, in the Pisa tests run by the OECD think tank.
UK government and opposition spokesmen have issued statements anticipating a poor showing in the tables. Within the UK, Scotland outperformed England at maths and reading, but Wales is below average in all subjects.
School systems in Shanghai, Singapore and South Korea were strong performers in previous tests three years ago. England's Education Secretary Michael Gove said the results showed the "urgent need for our reforms".
More than 500,000 15-year-old pupils took the tests around the world, with more than 12,000 taking tests in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. Mr Gove said the results, which had failed to improve on previous tests three years ago, were a reflection on the education policies of the previous government.
The UK was only a middle-ranking, average performer in those tests, overtaken by Asian and Eastern European countries - and it is not expected that the UK will have made progress. Global measure
Blame game The Pisa tests - the Programme for International Student Assessment - have become the most influential rankings in international education, based on tests taken by more than 500,000 secondary school pupils.
The tests, run by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, have become a highly influential measure of international education standards. They are two-hour written papers, designed to test teenagers' ability in core subjects. These measure education standards in Europe, North and South America, Australasia and parts of the Middle East and Asia.
Changes to the school system in England have been strongly linked with the need to match competitors in other countries. Tunisia was the only African country that participated.
Labour's shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt says poor results will show that England's school system, under the present and previous governments, "didn't keep up with international competition". The top places in the rankings are dominated by Asian school systems - although China so far does not participate as a whole country, but is represented by high-performing cities such as Shanghai and Hong Kong.
In lessons to be taken from other countries, Mr Hunt says that successful school systems encourage "collaborative networks", which he contrasted to what he called the coalition government's "free market" vision of schools. Shanghai's maths score is the equivalent of three years' schooling above the OECD average.
And he emphasised the importance of a qualified teaching profession. Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea and Japan are among the highest ranked across all subjects.
Education Secretary Michael Gove says the forthcoming results will be a "verdict on the last government". The OECD's Andreas Schleicher, in charge of the Pisa tests, has highlighted Vietnam's "star performance".
"These tests were taken in 2012 by children who had been educated almost entirely under Labour and before most of our reforms had even been introduced. The South East Asian country has entered the top 10 for science and outperformed many much wealthier western education systems, including the United States.
"The real test of our reforms will be how we do in a decade's time," said Mr Gove, who is responsible for education policy in England. UK slips in science
The CBI employers' organisation has emphasised the economic importance of keeping up with international education rivals. The UK has made little progress and remains among the average, middle-ranking countries, in 26th place for maths and 23rd for reading, broadly similar to three years ago.
"No issue matters more to the UK economy over the long term than the quality of our education system," said Katja Hall, the CBI's chief policy director. But the UK has slipped in science from 16th to 21st place.
"High-performing schools are the best way to support economic growth and greater opportunity," she said. Although not directly comparable, because there have been different numbers of countries taking part, this marks a sustained decline, with the UK having ranked 4th in the tests taken in 2000.
The test results from the OECD will show the big trends in global education standards. Much of this falling behind has been caused by other countries improving more quickly.
The OECD figures show that there has been almost no change in the UK's test scores, with the results "flat lining".
Within the UK, Scotland has performed slightly better than England in maths and reading, with England higher for science. Northern Ireland is behind them both across all subjects.
But the biggest gap is between Wales and the other parts of the UK, adrift from most of the middle ranking western countries.
Katja Hall, the chief policy director of the CBI employers' organisation, said: "No issue matters more to the UK economy over the long term than the quality of our education system."
But she warned the results should be a "wake-up call" and that when UK schools are only "treading water" that the country's economic performance will suffer.
Happiest pupils
The lowest ranked countries in this international league table are Peru and Indonesia. The OECD says the gap between top and bottom of this global classroom is the equivalent of six years of learning.
However Indonesia also appears as the country where the highest proportion of children say they are happiest at school. And the least happy pupils are in high-performing South Korea.
Finland, once an education superpower at the top of the rankings, has slipped downwards. Along with Sweden, Finland had the biggest fall in scores of any country in maths tests.
Sweden has fallen behind eastern and central European countries such as Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Estonia.
But Finland still has the highest position of any European country, fifth in science, the only non-Asian country in any of the top fives.
Among the strongest performances by English-speaking countries are Ireland, ranked 7th in reading, and Canada ranked 10th in science.
Chile is the strongest performer among South American countries, above the lowest-performing European country, Albania.
These Pisa tests provide an increasing level of regional detail and they show the huge variation within a single country.
In Italy, the region of Trento is one of the best in the world at maths, but Calabria is far below many European countries, the equivalent of two years behind.
The US remains average or below average, below countries such as Russia and Spain, but individual states are high performers.
If Massachusetts was ranked as a country it would be sixth best in the world, ahead of any European country.
From a low base in previous years, one of the biggest improvers in maths and reading is Qatar, a country that has been a high-profile investor in education.
Falling behind
Mr Gove said that the UK's lack of progress was evidence that Labour's spending on schools had failed to deliver improvements and that England's education system had "stagnated" and fallen behind other countries.
It will take another decade to measure the impact of the current government's reforms, said Mr Gove.
And the OECD education expert, Mr Schleicher, said it was much too early to use the latest Pisa tests to judge changes in England's school systems which were still in the process of being implemented.
Mr Gove emphasised the importance of such international comparisons.
"Only by learning from other nations and confronting failure at home will we give young people a fighting chance of competing for the jobs of the future," he said.
But Labour's Labour's Shadow Education Secretary, Tristram Hunt, said the Pisa results were a "big wake-up call" and evidence of a failure to meet the "international challenge".
Mr Hunt said that high performing Asian school systems reflected the "quality and status of the teaching profession".
There has already been speculation in Finland that the results will be disappointing, for a country that in the past has been one of the world's top performers.There has already been speculation in Finland that the results will be disappointing, for a country that in the past has been one of the world's top performers.
In these latest tests, China will be represented by high-performing regional administrations such as Shanghai and Hong Kong - but in future years it is expected there will be enough data for a whole-country figure for China.In these latest tests, China will be represented by high-performing regional administrations such as Shanghai and Hong Kong - but in future years it is expected there will be enough data for a whole-country figure for China.