| Topic: | Re:Re:Comprehensive Schools - What Evidence ? | |
| Posted by: | David Giles | |
| Date/Time: | 21/02/12 18:51:00 |
| Nicheal Like Sam, I tried to find what part of the Report supported your conclusion. On the contrary I found that the Report rated Britain 26th best out of the 34 countries in the survey in terms of ensuring that students complete their secondary education. Given the fact that the vast majority of students in this country - for the time being at least - attend comprehensive schools, that is hardly an endorsement of the British comprehensive school system. Everytime I look at an OECD or similar report, I find that educational achievement in the British comprehensive school system continues to decline while other countries are improving standards year on year. The Report does say: "09/02/2012 - "Governments should invest more in disadvantaged schools and students to ensure that everyone gets a fair chance" , according to a new OECD report entitled "Equity and Quality in Education: Supporting Disadvantaged Students and Schools". The Report says "that helping those in need would reduce school failure, boost economic growth and contribute to a fairer society." " Today, many students lack basic skills, as measured by PISA, and one in five students on average across the OECD drops out of the education system before finishing upper secondary. Dropout rates range from 2% in Korea to 58% in Turkey for the 25-34 years-old. Greece, Iceland, Italy, Mexico, Portugal and Spain have dropout rates of 25% and higher. Leaving school this early means that students lack the skills they need in today’s job market", says the OECD. "Those more likely to underperform or leave school without qualification are most often from poor or immigrant families, or have poorly educated parents (Figure 1.3). They are also more likely to attend schools with fewer resources, and their parents generally cannot afford private tutoring. "The report outlines five recommendations for improving equity in education systems to help disadvantaged students: "1. Eliminate grade repetition. This is costly and ineffective. In Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain, the direct costs of grade repetition account for nearly 10% of the annual spending on primary and secondary education. The academic benefits are also slight and short-lived. "2. Avoid early tracking which hurts students moved on to lower tracks, without raising student performance as a whole. "3. Manage school choice to avoid segregation. Over the past 25 years, more than two-thirds of OECD countries have increased parental school choice, particularly via government-dependent private schools. Financial incentives could encourage the best schools to take disadvantaged students. "4. Allocate funding according to student needs, and invest in early ages. Most OECD countries under-spend on early childhood education and care, investing nearly 2.5 times more in tertiary. In addition to targeting spending at disadvantaged students and schools, giving schools more autonomy coupled with accountability can help. "5. Encourage students to complete by improving the quality of secondary-level vocational training courses, including work-based training and making the different secondary pathways equivalent." None of this is particulary new, profound or surprising. I seem to remember arriving at similar conclusions myself many years ago as first year undergraduate. It certainly does not amount to an endorsement of the British comprehensive school system. But come to think of it, not even the Labour Party believes in comprehensive schools anymore ! |