| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:It's not about party politics | |
| Posted by: | Tom Pike | |
| Date/Time: | 24/02/12 11:45:00 |
| Richard, Paul is quite reasonably asking for evidence-based policy and so it really is worth seeing how other countries' schools perform against ours, especially those that produce the best education for their children: http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/33/8/46624007.pdf In the UK, more than any country except Luxembourg, a school's performance is dominated by the background of its pupils. We don't know the names of the two comprehensive schools Paul mentions, but it would be interesting to compare some indicators of their student intake, such as the percentage of free-school meals, before generalising from the particular. Of course that doesn't mean that the learning environment has no effect, and discipline is critical. In fact students in the UK report better discipline and less disruption than in most other countries, though within Europe it's Germany that sets the benchmark. I don't know how many German students stand to attention behind their desks when the teacher walks in, but few wear uniforms. |