Lessons to learn from PISA

According to the results of the 2018 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), unveiled on December 3, 2019, Chinese students from Beijing, Shanghai, and Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces ranked first in reading, mathematics and science, far ahead of those from other participating countries and regions. More importantly, the reading ability of 10 percent of the participating Chinese students with the weakest performances was higher than the average level of students from OECD members.

Prior to last year's success, Chinese students from Shanghai had won the first place in the PISA test in 2009 and 2012, showing the competitive advantages of China's basic education. The advantages stem from the great emphasis China places on education.

However, the PISA report has also exposed some problems. The shortage of teachers in China, especially in rural areas, is higher than in the OECD members. In terms of reading competence, the gap between students from different schools is large. Also, the overall learning efficiency and sense of happiness among students is low. The index of the students' sense of belonging to schools stood at minus 0.19, which is concerning.

It is common for students in East Asian countries to bear a heavy learning burden. Four relations between learning results and efficiency have been observed. There was good academic performance accompanied by a light learning burden in which case educational efficiency was at the highest level. Second, good performances based on a heavy burden, which represented a moderate level of efficiency. Third, poor academic performance caused by a light learning burden and last, poor academic performances coupled with a heavy learning burden, indicating the lowest efficiency. Overall, the performances of Chinese students fell into the second category. Such achievements are hard won for a large developing country with a population of 1.4 billion, which fully shows the institutional advantages, competitiveness and influence of its education system.

The 2018 PISA report also shows that Chinese students spend more learning time on reading, mathematics and science－roughly 47.6 percent of the total time－ranking 17th among all participating countries and regions.

In terms of curricula and the course schedules of Chinese primary and secondary schools, nearly 50 percent of class time is spent on reading, mathematics and science, which shows China attaches the utmost importance to these subjects. Although an advantage, it also takes up the time students spend on sharpening other skills such as sports, hands-on abilities, social interaction and practices. If this trend continues, schools, parents and students will only focus on learning existing knowledge while ignoring the learning of social skills and innovation.

The future of a nation and a country lies in education. Viewing the current situation, China has not yet found the best way to reduce the study burden on students and ensure improved comprehensive academic performance, although the quest has never stopped.

The Education Modernization Plan 2035, released recently, attaches great importance to the all-around personality development of students and focuses on moral education as a fundamental task by integrating it into academic and social practice education. It states that the modernization of education should be realized across the board by 2035 to ensure China has a large talent pool and ranks among countries with strong educational capabilities. To achieve this goal, much work is needed in five aspects.

First, the teaching process needs to be continuously improved by adopting evaluation and quality control systems and mechanisms, and introducing an education monitoring and feedback mechanism.

Second, fair, high-quality and inclusive education must be provided. The regional, urban-rural and inter-school gaps need to be addressed and children from modest backgrounds must receive good education. For this the government needs to improve preschool education, realize more balanced compulsory education and make senior secondary education universally available.

Third, budgets and resources should be further tilted toward education, in particular the basic conditions of kindergartens and primary and secondary schools. Traditionally, investment in education focuses on expanding schools. It should instead focus on ways to realize the all-around development of students.

Fourth, the country needs to accelerate educational reform and development with the goal of improving the quality of teachers and teaching so as to enhance students' comprehensive ability. That is, it is necessary to further raise the bar for teachers by introducing higher admission standards, enhancing teacher training and encouraging teachers to be lifelong learners.

Fifth, the education sector should be opened wider to the world by improving cooperation with other countries and international organizations across the board and participating in international education evaluation and tests such as PISA and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study.

China needs to make international comparisons to identify the problems and weak points in its education, improve its educational policies, promote the reform of educational content and methods and advance the internationalization and modernization of its education to contribute to global educational growth.

The author is deputy secretary general of the Education Studies Association of China.