[Blog] WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM PISA?

Overall Canada scored very well again with our students ranking 4th in science, 2nd in reading and 7^th in mathematics. Singapore led the way, scoring, by far, the highest in every category. Japan, Estonia and Finland also scored in the top 5.

 

If you quickly breakdown the Canadian data by province, Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia scored at the Canadian average or higher. Quebec was the only province to score above the Canadian average in math. Although Manitoba showed improvement in reading, the province ranked second last in Canada in science and reading, and third last in math. What we need to remember about PISA results, is that they are only one indicator of the achievement of a country/province. There are many other factors that need to be considered when analyzing the data such as the socioeconomic status of a province/country.

 

Although Canada did well overall, what can Manitoba learn from the provinces that scored higher than the Canadian average? What can we learn from Singapore or even the other top countries such as Finland, Estonia and Japan?

 

Quebec, BC and Alberta scored at or above average in Math and Manitoba scored second last, with only Saskatchewan behind. A question that could be asked is if “math is math” why doesn’t Canada teach the same math curriculum across the country so all Canadian students are getting the same solid foundation. This is not likely to happen, but as a first step, we could start by looking at, not only what the top provinces are teaching in their math curriculum, but how.

 

I met with the Minister of Education and Research and the Innove Foundaton in Estonia this summer. They talked about the value of a national curriculum and how this afforded them the opportunity to analyze students across the country in an accurate and efficient way. It also allowed them to offer the same consistent professional development to all teachers across the country, ensuring math was being taught consistently. In both Estonia and Finland, students begin kindergarten at 7, but the programming in pre-kindergarten focuses only on the development of numeracy and literacy through a guided, inquiry play-based program. This approach to numeracy and literacy development, also found in many provinces in Canada, could also be instrumental to Finland and Estonia’s successful PISA results. 

 

Singapore not only ranked number one, but that country has seen an increase in their scores over the last three PISA tests. Even with this success, several of the PISA analysts from that country were critical of the type of questions found on the PISA tests. Although the questions challenged students to apply their knowledge to unfamiliar situations, the questions didn’t encourage the students to think outside the box and generate new ideas…a skill necessary for success in the 21st century. Since the 1970’s, Singapore has evolved into one of the leading high tech economies in the world and they changed the how they teach at the same time, moving from a system of rote learning to encouraging creativity…another skill necessary for success in the 21 century. Are we doing enough in our education system to ensure that higher level thinking and creativity are part of all subject areas?

 

As I wrapped up my meeting in Estonia at the Innove Foundation, Einar Rull, an analyst responsible for curriculum development for the country, left me with a final piece of advice. “All that glitters isn’t golden. Be sure changes you make are relevant and research based.” Remembering that the PISA results are just one measure of assessment, there is no doubt that changes need to happen in Manitoba. A knee-jerk reaction to the PISA results could do more damage than good to ensuring our student’s success in the future.

 

Please continue to read my blog posts at balmoralhall.com/news throughout December 2016.