Curriculum and the inequality narrative
Author: Ben Jensen
Published in The Australian newspaper 9 December 2023
The latest results in the OECD PISA on the performance of our nation’s students is good and bad news for Australia. The good news is that after over a decade of decline, our results have remained stable. The bad news, all our efforts have not shifted the needle to actually increase performance.
The OECD PISA is an assessment of 15-Year-olds in science, reading and maths with the latter being the focus of this year’s study. It is normally conducted every three years but this was the first since 2018 due to COVID. Our performance has remained relatively stable in each domain.
While we all want improvement, we should take solace in the stability of our overall results. Average scores across OECD countries have fallen significantly. Between 2018 and 2022, average performance across the OECD in maths fell by almost 15 points; this is three times greater than any previous change. Many countries had declines worse than the average: the US lost over a year of learning in maths and England’s students lost around half a year, the performance of Dutch students fell by more than a year in maths and reading, German students fell by more than a year in maths. Even greater declines were evident in Norway, Iceland and Finland. That the performance of Australian students remained stable says a huge amount for the tireless work of Australia’s school leaders and teachers during and after the pandemic. They have worked massive hours in highly challenging circumstances. The pandemic was an incredibly trying time for Australian educators and since schools returned, they have had to deal with teacher shortages and worrying increases in behaviour problems; many school leaders tell me they have never seen the behaviour issues that are now occurring in their schools post-lockdowns. And let’s not forget the bushfires and floods that have wreaked havoc on many school communities across the country. That the performance of Australian students has not declined during this period is testament to their hard work, resilience and professionalism. When things get tough, teachers and school leaders so often step up to the plate. Thanks must also go to our education system leaders. Our school system leaders - especially those working in systems more heavily impacted by COVID - worked incredible hours and put in incredible efforts over the past few years. It’s easy to forget that at the start of the pandemic we were not sure if – let alone how - our schools were going to keep running. That the learning of Australian students has not declined the way it has in many countries around the world is something for which system leaders should feel proud. As a nation, we should recognise and express our thanks for the efforts of our teachers, school leaders and system leaders for their work to ensure Australian students’ learning did not suffer the way it has across many other countries during the pandemic.
