PISA IS AN ASSESSMENT MADE BY THE OECD (ORGANISATION ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT). PISA INVESTIGATES WORLDWIDE THE PRACTICAL KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS FROM 15-YEAR OLD STUDENTS. THIS PISA REPORT LOUNGED AT DECEMBER 6TH IS ABOUT THE YEAR 2015. THE PISA INVESTIGATES THE SCHOOL SUBJECTS SCIENCE, READING, AND MATHEMATICS IN 71 COUNTRIES . PISA IS UNIQUE BECAUSE OF POLICY ORIENTATION WHICH LINKS STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES WITH DATA ON STUDENTS BACKGROUNDS TOWARDS LEARNING. PISA ALSO INCLUDES INNOVATIVE CONCEPTS OF LITERACY WHICH REFERS TO STUDENTS CAPACITY TO APPLY KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS IN KEY SUBJECTS. PISA ALSO INVESTIGATES THE RELEVANCE TO LIFELONG LEARNING, THAT MEANS THAT THEY ASK STUDENTS TO REPORT WHAT THEIR MOTIVATION IS TO LEARN WHAT THEIR BELIEFS ARE ABOUT THEMSELVES AND WHAT THEIR LEARNING STRATEGIES ARE. PISA IS ALSO DIFFERENT BECAUSE OF THE REGULARITY, WHICH MODIFIES COUNTRY’S TO MONITOR IN MEETING KEY LEARNING OBJECTIVES.
SCIENCE
THE NETHERLANDS TAKES A 17TH POSITION ON THE WORLD RANKING LIST AT SCIENCE. THE COUNTRIES THAT DO SIGNIFICANT BETTER THAN THE NETHERLANDS ARE: ESTONIA, FINLAND, CANADA AND THE SIX ASIAN COUNTRIES. THERE ARE NINE COUNTRIES THAT DO STATISTICAL AS GOOD AS THE NETHERLANDS: IRELAND, SWITZERLAND, GERMANY, UNITED KINGDOM, AUSTRALIA, SLOVENIA, NEW-ZEALAND, SOUTH-KOREA AND CHINA. IN 52 COUNTRIES THE 15-YEAR-OLDS ACHIEVED LOWER AT SCIENCE THAN THE NETHERLANDS. THE DEVELOPMENT FROM THE SKILLS LEVEL IN THE NETHERLANDS SEEMS TO BE ON THE LEVEL OF THE OESO-AVERAGE. PISA ALSO INVESTIGATED HOW THE SCIENCE SKILLS FROM THE WEAKEST 5 % AND THE BEST 5% COMPARES TO PEERS IN THE OESO- AND EU-COUNTRIES. FOR THE HIGHEST SCORING 5% OF THE STUDENTS IS CALCULATED WHAT SCORE THEY ACHIEVE MINIMAL. FOR THE LOWEST SCORING 5% OF THE STUDENTS IS DECIDED WHAT SCORE THEY ACHIEVE MAXIMAL. ON THE INTERNATIONAL RANKING LIST FROM THE 5% STUDENTS WITH THE HIGHEST SCORES THE NETHERLANDS TAKES THE 12TH POSITION. IF WE ORDER BASED ON THE ACHIEVEMENTS FROM THE 5% WEAKEST STUDENTS THE NETHERLANDS TAKES POSITION 21. FROM THIS WE CAN CONCLUDE THAT IN RELATION TO THE AVERAGE SKILLS LEVEL, THE NETHERLANDS IS DOING BETTER AT THE 5% HIGHEST SCORING STUDENTS AND A BIT LESS AT THE 5% LOWEST SCORING STUDENTS.
FROM THE INVESTIGATION COMES CLEAR THAT RESEARCH AIMED EDUCATION AND TEACHER-DRIVEN INSTRUCTION HAVE A POSITIVE EFFECT ON THE LEARNING ACHIEVEMENTS, ATTITUDE AND MOTIVATION FROM STUDENTS. THAT’S ALSO THE CASE FOR GIVING SUPPORT AND FEEDBACK TO STUDENTS, MATCHING THE INSTRUCTION ON THE STUDENTS AND REALISING A ORDERLY CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT. BETWEEN THE NETHERLANDS AND THE OESO-COUNTRIES THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE WAY TEACHERS GIVE FEEDBACK , MATCH THE INSTRUCTION ON DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE STUDENTS AND CREATING A ORDERLY CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT. HOWEVER, DUTCH 15-YEAR OLDS ARE CONFRONTED A LOT LESS WITH RESEARCHED AIMED WORKING METHODS AND LEARNING ACTIVITIES THAN THEIR PEERS IN THE OESO-COUNTRIES. IN THE LESSONS SCIENCE DUTCH 15-YEAR-OLDS ARE SPENDING MORE TIME DOING EXPERIMENTS THAN THEIR PEERS IN THE OESO-COUNTRIES. HOWEVER, COGNITIVE CHALLENGING WORKING METHODS ARE IN THE NETHERLAND LESS COMMON. ALSO THE DUTCH 15-YEAR OLDS ARE LESS TAUGHT BY EFFECTIVE TEACHER-DRIVEN METHODS THAN THEIR PEERS IN THE OESO COUNTRIES. FINALLY DUTCH 15-YEAR OLDS ARE CLEARLY GETTING LESS SUPPORT FROM THEIR TEACHER THAN IS USUAL IN THE OESO-COUNTRIES. DUTCH 15-YEAR OLDS EXPERIENCE LESS FUN IN LEARNING SCIENCE THAN THEIR PEERS IN THE OESO-COUNTRIES. ALSO THEY HAVE RELATIVELY LESS INTEREST FOR SCIENCE THEMES, AND THEY THINK THAT SCIENCE IS RELATIVELY LESS IMPORTANT FOR FINDING A JOB AFTER THEIR EDUCATION. HOWEVER DUTCH 15- YEAR OLDS ARE FEELING AS COMPETENT IN PERFORMING SCIENCE EXERCISES AS THEIR PEERS IN THE OESO-COUNTRIES.
READING
ON THE INTERNATIONAL RANKING FROM AL THE 71 PARTICIPATING COUNTRIES THE NETHERLANDS TAKES THE 15TH POSITION. THE 10 COUNTRIES WHICH DO SIGNIFICANT BETTER THAN THE NETHERLANDS INCLUDE THE FOUR ASIAN COUNTRIES: SINGAPORE, HONG KONG, SOUTH-KOREA AND MACAO-CHINA. THERE ARE 47 COUNTRIES WHICH DO SIGNIFICANT WORSE THAN THE NETHERLANDS, INCLUDING RUSSIA, CHINA AND SWITZERLAND. THE NETHERLANDS SCORES HIGHER THAN THE OESO-AVERAGE. THE DEVELOPMENT FROM THE READING LEVEL IN THE NETHERLANDS LOOKS LIKE THE DEVELOPMENT IN THE OESO-COUNTRIES. LIKE IN THE NETHERLANDS THE AVERAGE ACHIEVEMENTS FROM THE OESO-COUNTRIES ARE IN THE PERIOD 2006-2012 RELATIVELY STABLE. IN THE PERIOD FROM 2012 TO 2015 THE SCORES SLIGHTLY DECREASE. FOR READING SKILLS THE NETHERLANDS DECREASED A FEW STEPS ON THE OESO-LADDER. BECAUSE OF INCREASING PARTICIPATING COUNTRIES, IT IS HARD TO INTERPRETIVE THIS. THE POSITION OF THE NETHERLANDS IN THE EU GIVES A BETTER IMAGE OF THE POSITION OF THE NETHERLANDS. IN 2003 AND 2006 THE NETHERLANDS TOOK IN EU-CONNECTION THE 4TH POSITION BEHIND FINLAND, IRELAND AND POLAND AND IN 2009 EVEN SECOND BEHIND POLAND. IN 2015 IT TURNS OUT THAT SLOVENIA, POLAND, GERMANY, ESTONIA, IRELAND AND FINLAND SCORE HIGHER THAN THE NETHERLANDS. BUT ONLY THE DIFFERENCE WITH ESTONIA, IRELAND AND FINLAND IS SIGNIFICANT. CONCLUDING WE CAN SAY THAT THE NETHERLANDS IS STILL DOING WELL ON READING SKILLS INSIDE DE EU. THE READING SKILLS FROM HAVO-AND VWO-STUDENTS STAYED ACTUALLY THE SAME SINCE 2006. BUT THE VMBO STUDENTS ARE SHOWING A EVENLY DECREASE. FOLLOWING A INTERNATIONAL DEFINITION ILLITERATE STUDENTS HAVE TROUBLE WITH USING WRITTEN INFORMATION TO OPERATE IN SOCIETY, TO ACHIEVE THEIR OWN GOALS AND TO DEVELOP THEIR OWN KNOWLEDGE AND POSSIBILITY’S. THE PERCENTAGE ILLITERATES IN THE NETHERLANDS SEEMS TO BE INCREASING.
MATHEMATICS
FOR MATHEMATICS THE NETHERLANDS TAKES THE 11TH POSITION ON THE INTERNATIONAL RANKING FROM ALL THE 71 COUNTRIES. THE TOP 5 IS LEADED BY SINGAPORE AND HONG KONG, FOLLOWED BY MACAO-CHINA, TAIPEI-CHINA AND JAPAN. THERE ARE SIX COUNTRIES WHERE THE ACHIEVEMENTS DON’T DIFFER FROM THE NETHERLANDS. THIS GROUP CONSISTS OF THE COUNTRIES CANADA, DENMARK, FINLAND, SLOVENIA, BELGIUM AND GERMANY. THERE ARE 56 COUNTRIES WHICH SCORE SIGNIFICANT LOWER THAN THE NETHERLANDS. THE CONCLUSION IS THAT THE NETHERLANDS STILL BELONGS TO THE INTERNATIONAL SUB TOP. OUR COUNTRY SCORES A LOT HIGHER THAN THE OESO AVERAGE. IN THE EU-COUNTRIES THE NETHERLANDS TAKES THE SECOND POSITION, ONLY ESTONIA IS SCORING SIGNIFICANT BETTER THAN THE NETHERLANDS. THE GOOD POSITION FROM THE NETHERLANDS CAN’T COVER THAT THE MATHEMATIC ACHIEVEMENTS FROM THE DUTCH 15-YEAR OLDS IS DECREASING. IN THE PERIOD 2003-2012 THE MATHEMATICS LEVEL DECREASED STEP BY STEP. IN 2015 WE ESTABLISH THAT THE DECREASE CONTINUED AND EVEN GOT BIGGER. BUT WE HAVE TO NOTICE THAT THE HOLE OESO-AVERAGE DURING THAT PERIOD DECREASED. HOWEVER THE COMPARISON FROM THE DECREASE IN THE NETHERLANDS AND THE OESO SHOWS THAT THE MATHEMATICS LEVEL IN THE NETHERLANDS DECREASED MORE THAN THE OESO LEVEL.
BACKGROUND FEATURES FROM STUDENTS
IN PROPORTION TO THE AVERAGE SKILLS DIFFERENCES BETWEEN STUDENTS, ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GIRLS AND BOYS ALMOST IN ALL THE COUNTRIES VERY SMALL. THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE AVERAGES FROM GIRLS AND BOYS IS ALMOST NEVER BIGGER THAN A FIFTH FROM THE STANDARD DEVIATION. IN SEVEN FROM THE 71 OESO-AND PARTNER COUNTRIES ARE GIRLS ON AVERAGE BETTER IN SCIENCE THAN BOYS . IN THREE FROM THE 71 OESO-COUNTRIES BOYS HAVE A LITTLE LEAD IN SCIENCE ON GIRLS: AUSTRIA, COSTA RICA AND ARGENTINA. ALSO IN THE NETHERLANDS 15-YEAR OLD BOYS HAVE HIGHER SCORES IN SCIENCE THAN GIRLS FROM THE SAME AGE, BUT THE DIFFERENCE IN THE ADVANTAGE FROM BOYS IS TINY. IN THE PERIOD 2003-2012 STAYED THE DIFFERENCE IN ACHIEVEMENTS BETWEEN BOYS AND GIRLS IN THE NETHERLANDS THE SAME. FROM 2012 TO 2015 THE SKILLS IN SCIENCE FROM GIRLS DECREASED AS STRONG AS FROM BOYS. IN THE NETHERLANDS STUDENTS WHO SPEAK DUTCH AT HOME SCORED SIGNIFICANT HIGHER AS THE ONES WHO SPEAK A DIFFERENT LANGUAGE AT HOME. THIS IS THE CASE FOR AS WELL SCIENCE, READING SKILLS AND MATHEMATICS. THE ACHIEVEMENT DIFFERENCE IN ADVANTAGE FROM THE AT HOME DUTCH SPEAKING STUDENTS IS BIG. AT ALL THREE OF THE DOMAINS IT IS ALMOST TWO-THIRDS OF THE STANDARD DEVIATION. IN ALL THREE DOMAINS THE AUTOCHTHONOUS STUDENTS SCORE SIGNIFICANT HIGHER THAN THE IMMIGRANT STUDENTS. HOWEVER THERE IS NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE FOR AL DOMAINS BETWEEN FIRST GENERATION AND SECOND GENERATION IMMIGRANT STUDENTS. THE STUDENTS ARE RANKED IN FOUR CATEGORIES BASED ON THE PARENT WITH THE HIGHEST EDUCATION LEVEL: NEVER FINISHED ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, ELEMENTARY SCHOOL OR VMBO, HAVO/VWO/MBO AND HIGHER EDUCATION. 15-YEAR OLD CHILDREN FROM PARENTS WITH A HIGHER EDUCATION LEVEL ACHIEVE IN ALL THREE DOMAINS BETTER ACHIEVEMENTS THAN CHILDREN WHO GREW UP IN FAMILIES WITH PARENTS WITH A LOWER EDUCATION LEVEL. THE AVERAGE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ‘’NEVER FINISHED ELEMENTARY SCHOOL’’ AND ‘’HIGHER EDUCATION’’ IS AS WELL AS BY SCIENCE, READING SKILLS AND MATHEMATICS ABOUT ONE STANDARD DEVIATION.
THE CONCLUSIONS FROM PISA-2015 CAN BE PRESENTED AS GOOD AND AS BAD NEWS. THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THE NETHERLANDS STILL A GOOD SUB TOPPER IS IN INTERNATIONAL COMPANY. IN EUROPE WE ARE AT THE 6TH POSITION IN SCIENCE, IN READING SKILLS WE TAKE THE 7TH POSITION AND IN MATHEMATICS WE ARE EVEN ON THE SECOND POSITION. IF WE LOOK AT THIS RESULTS THE NETHERLANDS IS DOING GREAT, BUT THE BAD NEWS IS THAT THE AVERAGE LEVEL OF SCIENCE, READING SKILLS AND MATHEMATICS DECREASED IN THE OESO-COUNTRIES AND THE LEVEL IN THE NETHERLANDS SEEMS TO BE DECREASING A BIT STRONGER THAN ELSEWHERE. ALTHOUGH A LEVEL DECREASING IN THE NETHERLANDS CAN’T BE DENIED IT IS REMARKABLE THAT THIS DECREASE IS ALSO NOTICED IN THE OESO-COUNTRIES. THEY HAVEN’T FOUND ANY EXPLANATIONS JET FOR THE WORLDWIDE DECREASE OF THE EDUCATION LEVEL.