English achievement?
7. There has always been a lively debate about the
standard of English education and its standing against education
in other countries, but sensible comparisons have often been difficult
to make. The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)
is an international study[4]
designed to assess the skills and knowledge of 15 year old students
in literacy, mathematics and the sciences. It was first conducted
in 2000 and was commissioned by the Organisation for Economic
Cooperation and Development (OECD); 32 OECD member countries
took part.[5]
8. The results of the study were greeted with surprise,
scepticism, and celebration. The English students who participated
in the study demonstrated ability in mathematics, reading, and
science significantly above the OECD average, ahead of those in
France, Germany and the USA. England was ranked 8th and 9th in
the PISA study for mathematics and literacy examination results.
We travelled to Paris in March 2002 to take formal oral evidence
from the OECD regarding its international study.[6]
9. We were interested to learn that the scores of
the lowest performing English students compared well with those
in other countries but that the study showed England to have a
wide variation in the performance of the most and least able students.[7]
This variation was shown to be greater within schools[8]
rather than between schools and showed a clear correlation
between pupil achievement and social class. Professor John Bynner
cautioned us against drawing firm conclusions from the PISA study;
"it is a cross-sectional survey, and there are always question
marks".[9]
10. Dr Emma Smith of Cardiff University has undertaken
an analysis of the performance of the poorest 10 per cent of students
undertaking the study. She told us that students in the UK were
ranked 3rd or 4th highest of all EU countries based on their literacy
results and pointed out that "the performance of our poorer
children was at least as good as the performance of [similar]
students in Finland".[10]
11. The PISA study highlighted an important issue
for British educators, a long tail of low achievement.[11]
Professor Tomlinson said the PISA study showed that "we have
high achievers and a tail of young people who are not achieving
well".[12] She told
us that "the major thing to come out of the PISA study is
that the high achievement goes along with non-selective systems
in Finland, South Korea—not North Korea—Canada, and
Scotland.. selective systems tend to have this tail of low achievers,
which is what we have here".[13]
The study showed correlation between the structure and organisation
of education and the performance within schools. Education systems
which displayed a selective element generated wider differences
than others in achievement between the most and the least able.
The study suggested that selective practices, including streaming,
can have the effect of depressing levels of pupil attainment.[14]
12. Mr Barnaby Shaw, Divisional Manager, School Improvement
and Excellence in Cities, DfES, told us that "The gap between
the best and lowest performing is strikingly big in England…It
underlines the fact that this is quite a priority for England
to try and narrow the gap and it is an uphill struggle because
it is quite endemic."[15]
13. The PISA study raised important questions, and
has given rise to a number of different interpretations of the
performance of pupils in England. We developed our terms of reference
for this inquiry based on some of the issues arising out of it.
We wished to explore the effectiveness of policy designed to raise
the achievement of the most disadvantaged as well as the more
able students.[16]
14. In this report we explore the use of education
as a means of improving the life chances of the most disadvantaged.
The Committee has consistently reported our firm belief in the
importance of widening access to higher education. Success in
secondary education is a fundamental requirement for further and
higher education. The benefits of higher education include greater
access to employment and financial independence,[17]
so it is vital that children are able to realise their potential
at school. We recognise that this Government is committed to raising
the achievement of pupils in secondary education. Our intention
is to examine how effective Government policy is in achieving
this aim.
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