The Reform of Education Systems: Nothing More to Learn?

In this back-to-school period, it is always of interest to enquire into the performance of education systems (which can be measured by international comparisons of the systems themselves or of the competences of the pupils) and how to improve them. Charles du Granrut, drawing on two recent reports (by the OECD and McKinsey) on the performance of education systems and successful educational reforms, raises some points for consideration in this field.
After discussing pupils in difficulty, whose results are a key element for explaining the performance of education systems, he stresses that all systems can improve, whatever the initial level of pupils, the geographical or cultural context or the resources allocated. For them to do so, it is, however, essential among other things to have rigorous assessments of the performance of all the actors (pupils, teachers and schools); to establish precise, ambitious curricula; to promote the autonomy of teachers and schools; and to make them responsible, in turn, for their actions…