Educational Attainment: International Rankings Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateBaroness Wolf of Dulwich
Main Page: Baroness Wolf of Dulwich (Crossbench - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Baroness Wolf of Dulwich's debates with the Department for Education
(7 years, 8 months ago)
Lords ChamberAs the noble Lord knows, our emphasis on teacher training has been on in-school training, but we have the highest number of trainees in science for five years; physics—traditionally our hardest subject to recruit for—is up 15% on last year; and we have recruited in excess of our targets in biology, geography and history.
The PISA studies lend themselves to cross-country comparisons which, like any league table, are always tremendously attractive to readers. However, they also purport to measure absolute standards, which are ultimately more important. There is a somewhat spurious use of tiny differences—from, for example, 827 to 828. Does the Minister have any information on, or plans to do any research into, whether or not there have actually been changes in the absolute standard of achievement of British children on the PISA tests?