Romanian students get poor PISA results
Romanians got average scores in the Program for International Student Assessment - PISA 2022.
Mihai Pelin, 06.12.2023, 13:50
Romania is is not making progress in the PISA tests. The results obtained by students in the country, last year, are equally poor to those of 2018. Romania is last but one in the EU in this respect, ahead of Bulgaria. Almost 700,000 students from 81 countries took part in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) staged by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) after the pandemic, and the subject matter was mathematics. Through this programme, the OECD aims to assess education systems around the world by testing the skills of 15-year-old students in reading, mathematics and science.
A little over half of the Romanian children of this age proved that they have at least an acceptable level in these subjects. At global level, Romania is behind the education systems of countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and even Ukraine, which participated with several regions in the assessment carried out during the war. Singapore ranks first in this report, with the best results in all three areas. The Romanian Minister of Education, Ligia Deca, said that the new education laws adopted this year will improve the situation.
Ligia Deca: “Romanias PISA results have remained stable in the last few years, but it is time to make some progress. We need to increase from 5 to 7 out of 10 the number of students who demonstrate at least minimal skills in reading, science and mathematics. The new pre-university education law creates the necessary framework for improving students skills in the three fields, reducing the existing academic gap among students with different social, economic and cultural status. The results of the new legislative framework will be seen in the next editions of the PISA studies.”
The Ministry of Education claims that, unlike many other countries, Romania has not recorded significant decreeses in students’ academic performance, which proves that the education system is resilient. European countries such as France, Norway or Germany have recorded decreases. By contrast, in Europe, Estonia, Switzerland, Ireland, Austria, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, Sweden and Denmark fared better, with scores above the OECD average, as did Canada. The report, which examines data collected in 2022, is the first since the COVID-19 pandemic. Although it recognizes the negative impact of quarantine periods on education, the report also refers to other problems, such as the decrease in parental involvement in childrens education, as factors that contribute to lower levels of education.
The data also shows that in education systems where academic scores remained high, students sense of belonging also improved, as they tend to feel safer and less exposed to bullying and other risks in school. The next assessment will take place in 2025, when the level of learning will be tested in sciences. The innovative field will be learning in the digital world, and the knowledge of the English language will be tested optionally. (EE)
