THE EU, EDUCATION & ASSESSEMENT NPLI 2014 New York Challenging the way we measure success NPLI goes global, July 14, 2014 Kari Kivinen PhD 1
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28 EU Member States & Education Each EU Member State is responsible for the content and organization of its education and vocational training systems. The EU respects the diversity of national rules and priorities and is not entitled to harmonize the laws and regulations of the EU countries in that area. The EU plays a role in the European learning process as a coordinator, facilitator and advisor. 3
EU EDUCATION ACTIONS The EU encourages cooperation between Member States and supplements their action: 1. supports students, doctoral candidates, trainees, teachers, trainers, and lecturers to study, teach, or gain work experience abroad and young people to participate in youth exchanges or volunteering abroad; 2. encourages Member States to reform and modernize education and training systems so that they are better equipped to tackle today s and tomorrow s challenges; 3. facilitates adaptation to changes and integration into the labor market, in particular through vocational education and training; 4. promotes cooperation between governments, universities, colleges and schools, training establishments and enterprises. 4
The EU pursues ambitious goals The EU and its Member States agreed to set the following benchmarks for 2020: The share of 15-year-olds with inadequate abilities in reading, math and science should be less than 15%. School dropout rates should be reduced to less than 10%. At least 40% of young adults should complete higher education. At least 20% of higher education graduates should have had a period of study or training abroad. 5
Where does EU education stand today? Each Member State has created its own education system! Each Member State has its own evaluation, assessment and quality assurance practices! There is a great deal of interesting school development in progress in Member States! According to the PISA 2012 survey, learning outcomes are very mixed. 6
Educational diversity There is, for example, a wide range of rather different lower secondary education models (ISCED 2) Differentiated branches (Germany & Austria) Single structure (Nordic countries) Common Core Curriculum (UK, France, Spain, etc.) 7
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Some countries stand out - others are way behind! Four EU Member States (Estonia, Finland, Poland and the Netherlands) are among the top performing countries with a rate of low achievers in math better than the EU benchmark of 15%. Estonia is top of the class in terms of the proportion of low achievers in Math: only 10.5% (compared with 22.1% in the EU as a whole). There are some EU Member States where between one half and one third of 15-year-olds score at the lowest PISA level. 9
PISA 2012 - Mathematics EU-27 & US Rank - PISA 2012 Country Maths 1 Netherlands 523 2 Estonia 521 3 Finland 519 4 Poland 518 5 Belgium 515 6 Germany 514 7 Austria 506 8 Ireland 501 9 Slovenia 501 10 Denmark 500 11 Czech Rep. 499 12 France 495 13 UK 494 14 Latvia 491 15 Luxembourg 490 16 Portugal 487 17 italy 485 18 Spain 484 19 Slovakia 482 20 US 481 21 Lithuania 479 22 Sweden 478 23 Hungary 477 24 CroaTa 471 25 Greece 253 26 Romania 445 27 Cyprus 440 10 28 Bulgaria 439
Teachers in the EU have different requirements, qualifications and salaries There is quite wide diversity in terms of teachers qualifications at the various teaching levels! Teachers are paid very differently in different Member States! 11
Teacher training in Europe For primary, most teachers have bachelor level qualifications In 15 countries, lower secondary teachers have master s level (5 years) qualifications Master s degree Bachelor s degree Rank / PISA 2012 Country Reading 1 Finland 524 2 Ireland 523 3 Poland 518 4 Estonia 516 5 Netherlands 511 6 Belgium 509 7 Germany 508 8 France 505 9 UK 499 10 US 498 11 Denmark 496 12 Czech Rep. 493 13 Austria 490 14 italy 490 15 Latvia 489 Luxembour 16 g 488 17 Portugal 488 18 Spain 488 19 Hungary 488 20 CroaTa 485 21 Sweden 483 22 Slovenia 481 23 Lithuania 477 24 Greece 477 25 Slovakia 463 26 Cyprus 449 27 Romania 438 28 Bulgaria 436 Primary Masters Lower secondary Masters 12
Annual salary scales v PISA results It is quite interesting to compare, for example, the PISA 2012 Science outcomes and teachers salary levels in the different Member States money does not always matter! Average teacher salary EU 27 + US Rank in Science Country Luxembourg 91 629 20 Germany 53 860 4 Denmark 53 730 14 Belgium 51 683 11 Ireland 48 489 6 Netherlands 46 774 5 Sweden 42 804 23 Cyprus 42 323 28 Austria 40 284 10 Finland 37 702 1 UK 33 846 8 France 31 085 13 US 30 807 15 Spain 28 334 16 italy 28 215 18 Portugal 24 606 22 Slovenia 21 661 7 Greece 19 713 25 Czech Rep. 13 135 9 CroaTa 11 400 21 Poland 9 300 3 Estonia 9 293 2 Slovakia 7 912 24 Hungary 6 638 19 Romania 5 750 27 Lithuania 5 223 17 Bulgaria 4 436 26 Latvia 3 893 12
What about school heads? The basic condition for a teacher to reach the position of school head is generally 5 years of teaching experience. Most countries apply additional conditions Administrative experience Special training for headship 14
THE EU & ASSESSMENT 15
National tests & External evaluation Most of the EU 28 Member States use the data from national tests to monitor their schools Many EU 28 Member States use the data from external evaluation to monitor their schools. 16
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Evaluation elements The scope of evaluation in different Member States is not the same. Elements of the education system subject to evaluation: School system evaluation School evaluation Individual teacher evaluation Evaluation of the learning outcomes of individual students 18
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How is external evaluation data used? It is also important to know how evaluation data is used: There is no external evaluation Student evaluation data is not used for external evaluation of the school Student evaluation data is used to evaluate the school 20
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What is done with evaluation data? Schools nowadays are inundated with different kind of statistics and assessment data. There is great variation as regards what is done with the data: If there is no evaluation there is no data The data is routinely published The data is not published There is autonomy for use of the data 22
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SCHOOL HEADS & ASSESSMENT 24
`Acknowledging the truth is the beginning of wisdom Juho-Kusti Paasikivi Even the most depressing assessment result can be seen as a starting point for a school improvement process! 25
Let s use assessment to do something positive! Assessment can be a useful and powerful tool for an educator, if it is used for the right purpose: How can learning in my school be improved? How can teaching be improved? How can the well-being of students and staff members in school society be improved? How can teachers be supported in their work? 26
Assessment is an essential part of the quality assurance cycle PLAN IMPLEMENT CONTINUOUS IMPROVMENT REVIEW EVALUATE/ ASSESS 27
PLAN TOGETHER ENGAGE EVERYBODY IMPLEMENT ENCOURAGE SUPPORT SHARED VISION SHARED GOALS SMALL STEPS SHARE RESULTS, REFLECTION AND YOUR VISION SELF- EVALUATE, GET EVERYBODY INVOLVED IN ASSESSMENT 28
Summary Educational systems should be encouraged to promote school selfevaluation and self-regulation through internal quality assurance processes using assessment results as basis. 1. Growing the capacity Ø School Heads are inundated with assessment data. Training is needed to develop their ability to use and understand evaluation processes and the range of data available. 2. Effective use of the results: Ø The evaluation information should be organized and shared in ways that facilitate effective use of the outcomes by schools and avoid misuse of assessment results. 3. Better tools are needed: Ø There seems to be a need for School Heads to have specific (self-)evaluation tools and instruments to ensure that evaluation contributes to the improvement of teaching and learning 29
Sources EURYDYCE facts and figures - http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/education/eurydice/ Key data on teachers and school leaders in Europe, Eurydice, 2013 edition: http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/education/eurydice/key_data_en.php/151en.pdf The structure of the European education systems 2013/14: http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/education/eurydice/documents/facts_and_figures/ education_structures_en.pdf OECD PISA 2012 results: http://www.oecd.org/pisa/keyfindings/pisa-2012-results.htm The European Union explained: education, training, youth and sport: http://europa.eu/pol/index_en.htm European Commission: Supporting education and training: http://ec.europa.eu/education/index_en.htm SiCI workshop report School Evaluation for Improvement and Accountability: striking the right balance, March 2014, Malta. http://www.sici-inspectorates.eu/getattachment/ b1b7db63-5c19-4e1a-97c4-bda3aacec5a1 More information: kari.kivinen@eursc.org 30
EU education resources in US EU LESSON PLANS: The EU delegation to the US has prepared a modular series of EU lesson plans for students. The lessons are designed to support History and Social Sciences curricula in the US for grades 9-12 and can be adapted for middle school students. The lesson plans and accompanying PowerPoiint presentations are on our website at: http://www.euintheus.org/resources-learning/eu-guide-for-americans/ EURO CHALLENGE: The Euro Challenge is an educational opportunity for high school students to learn about the European Union (EU) and the euro. Student teams of three to five students are asked to make presentations answering specific questions about the European economy and the single currency, the euro. http://www.euro-challenge.org/wordpress/. EUROPEAN DIPLOMATS IN YOUR CLASSROOMS The European Union Educational Outreach Program provides for classroom visits by senior European diplomats and experts to American high schools to deepen student and teacher understanding of the European Union. More information on inviting diplomats to schools is on our website at: http://www.euintheus.org/resources-learning/academic-resources/eueducational-outreach/ 31