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Pisa study: Praise for the teachers

2019-12-03T09:44:19.481Z


The new Pisa results are confusing: they show a slight decline in student performance, but at the same time show a positive overall development of German schools. How can that be?



The good news first: There is no Pisa shock 2.0, the disaster is over. In all three areas of reading, mathematics and the natural sciences, Germany's students in the new Pisa study are significantly above the OECD average.

The scientists around the mathematician Kristina Reiss, who researches at the Technical University of Munich and coordinates the German part of the PISA tests, describe the measured competencies as "quite acceptable". Germany has finally left the dramatic results of the first 2000 Pisa tests behind. "There are only a few states that have achieved such a positive overall development," says Reiss.

Nevertheless, the cheering is restrained. At the same time, Germany consistently performs worse than at the last edition of PISA in 2015. While the differences in reading and the natural sciences are not all that drastic, scientists in mathematics speak of a "significant decline" in competence.

The Pisa study

Who was tested?

In the seventh study of the "Program for International Student Assessment (PISA)" in spring 2018, the competences of 5451 pupils aged 15 and over were tested at about 220 schools of all types. In addition, teachers and parents were interviewed. Worldwide, around 600,000 15-year-olds participated in 79 countries, including the 37 member states of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

What was tested?

Every three years, the Pisa study looks at how well adolescents, at the end of compulsory education, can apply basic skills in reading, mathematics and science in everyday situations. This time, the focus was on reading. It includes the ability to understand, use, evaluate, and reflect on texts.

Where was tested?

A total of 79 countries and economic regions participated in the Pisa 2018 survey. The client is the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), but non-OECD countries can also participate. For the first time students from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brunei Darussalam, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine and Belarus were present.

How was tested?

All students have to solve Pisa tasks on the computer. In part, these are multiple-choice tasks, and in some cases tasks that require you to formulate your own answers. The study setting on reading was a bit different this time than in previous years: for the first time, it was taken into account that young people are no longer primarily reading printed matter but increasingly reading digital content. The students had to deal with different, partly conflicting sources.

Who is behind the study?

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) coordinates the study. Germany participates in the PISA study by resolution of the Conference of the Ministers of Education (KMK) and the Federal Ministry of Education. On the national side, the study was carried out by the Pisa working group under the direction of Kristina Reiss at the Technical University of Munich.

How well do students read digitally?

Since 2015, the OECD has been testing exclusively on the computer. In 2018, it was first explored how confident students are in a typical Internet environment. Among other things, they had to gather information on a simulated homepage or analyze a chat with several participants.

"Pisa has adapted to the habits of today's 15-year-olds," says educational researcher Reiss. The results of this new task type are included in the read rating. "Basal reading is a necessary skill to navigate the digital world."

In addition to reading skills, the current Pisa study also asks how - and above all how much - young people read. "Almost all countries show a growing reluctance to read," says education researcher Kristina Reiss. "Many young people do not read for pleasure anymore, especially when they need information."

It is surprising that German students have the highest reading expertise in comparison - so they know very well about reading techniques. However, this advantage does not necessarily translate into reading performance: good theoretical knowledge does not necessarily lead to being able to apply it.

Successful integration

Also in 2018, the success of education in Germany is noticeably dependent on the parents - consistently in all performance areas. "It remains a central task, especially the weaker students to promote," says Kristina Reiss. "In all three areas of performance, the proportion of weak young people is unquestionably too high."

For the first time ever, young people who have immigrated to Germany since 2015 were tested at Pisa 2018 - but only those who have already studied at a German school for at least one year. The proportion of immigrant students has increased by ten percentage points compared to the last Pisa 2015 test.

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Since time immemorial, children and adolescents with a history of immigration have performed worse in performance tests than their German counterparts; this applies to Pisa as well as to the IQB country comparison or the Vera comparison work. "The fact that the results are so satisfying, especially in reading, where language plays a particularly important role in this area, is primarily thanks to the teachers," says Kristina Reiss. "They do great things in integration."

Source: spiegel

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