A Review of the Top Performing Nations on PISA: Demographics, Socio-economics, and more

Over the past 18 months, I researched the performance of the top eight nations in the world who participated in the 2022 OECD PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) test. Specifically, I studied Canada, Estonia, Finland, Ireland (in progress), Japan, South Korea, and Switzerland.

The OECD PISA test is a triennial international assessment that evaluates 15-year-old students’ abilities in reading, mathematics, and science. It focuses on how well students can apply their knowledge and skills to real world problems rather than rote memorization. The results help us learn from educational systems worldwide and inform policy decisions to improve learning outcomes.

The administration of the 2022 PISA test was delayed one year because of COVID, which is important to point out, since despite the pandemic, these nations performed equally as well in 2022 as they did in previous years. This resiliency contributed to their success, and the cultural differences were interesting to study.

Readers of my LinkedIn newsletters offered advice about comparing countries of different demographics and socio-economics. I embraced their suggestions and thoughtfully analyzed the research across multiple data points. The data points were size and population of the country, immigration rate, education and political system, job security, teacher attrition, teacher efficacy, and student wellness.? In the sections below, I will share my thoughts relative to these data points and follow up with concluding remarks.

The nations studied have democratic forms of government and educational systems influenced by western thought. Citizens have rights according to their nations’ constitutions, and their political systems are based on the division of power similar to the branches of government in the United States. In most instances, the heads of these governments have less influence in policy development at the national level than the duly elected representatives of the people.

The top eight nations are split between centralized and decentralized school systems. Some people believe that centralized school systems allow policy and regulatory decisions to be made more easily. However, this turns out not to be the case. Both centralized and decentralized school system are equally successful adjusting to conditions brought on by factors related to COVID, to fluctuations in immigration, and changes in policies. One thing is certain, school systems that can successfully adjust to conditions, whether centralized or decentralized, performed better on the 2022 PISA test.

When analyzing the differences in performance among nations, several questions come up. First, is population density a factor in how well school systems perform? One might expect it is. Less densely populated geographical school zones impose longer travel distances for students, staffing, and related budget considerations. On the other hand, school systems more densely populated have challenges with class-size, equity, and overcrowding. Turns out that students from both densely and less densely populated school zones from the top eight nation performed equally well on the 2022 PISA test. Canada being one of the least densely populated areas at 4 people per ?, and Singapore being one of the most densely populated areas at 700 ?, are two of the highest performing nations in the world.

Second, does wealth affect performance? The wealth of a nation as a function of its gross domestic product (GDP) spent on education is not a factor separating these countries. While wealth plays a role, it is not the defining factor separating more successful from less successful school systems. Spending more and more money is not necessarily going to improve performance. The United States spends an estimated 1.53 trillion dollars on education by the latest figure I can gather, which is approximately 6.0 percent of their GDP, and the nation is not ranked in the top ten; while Canada spends 0.19 trillion dollars, 4.1 percent of their GDP, and ranked one of the top nations in the world. Policies that determine where and how the money is spent does affect student performance.

Third, does attrition affect performance? Teacher and principal attrition affect performance. Of the top eight nations studied, six with the highest PISA test performance also have the lowest attrition rates among teachers and principals. Finland, Estonia, Japan, Singapore, Switzerland, and South Korea, have teacher attrition rates at or below 20 percent with principal attrition rates at or below 15 percent. Canada and Ireland fell outside these ranges in one or both categories.

Fourth, does teacher and student perception affect performance? The findings from the research reveal that teachers’ feeling positive about their profession and students’ feeling positive about their schools affect performance. In six of the top eight nations studied, each had a teacher job satisfaction rating of no less than 70 percent and as high as 98 percent; and in seven of the top eight nations studied, student satisfaction with their schools was no less than 75 percent and as high as 91 percent.

Fifth, does job security, salary, and working conditions affect performance? In all top nations studied, each have some form of tenure. In some nations, tenure is granted upon appointment; in others, there is a recertification process every certain number of years, but job security exists. Salary and working conditions play a pivotal role in performance. Nearly all top nations offer its teachers competitive salaries and excellent working conditions. In all, teachers believe they are respected as professionals.

Sixth, does professional development affect performance? The results of a recent survey administered by the OECD suggests it does. Teachers with less than/equal to five years of teaching experience, and teachers with greater than five years of teaching experience, responded that they benefit from professional development and better able to support students when the content is adjusted to teaching experience and instructional needs.

Closing Remarks

As a teacher and leader with over forty years of experience, it excites me to explore new approaches to improving student performance. The issues that confront us here at home are not unique to our neighbors abroad. The shortage of teachers and principals, and lack of respect as professionals, are problems worldwide. ?

To encourage candidates to enter the teaching profession we can learn from successful nations abroad. Changing the profession might require changing norms. In some nations where respect for teachers is high, the subject of morality is intentionally taught in schools. In other nations, parents are heavily invested in their children’s education because it is directly tied to the quality of their lives during the golden years. In the eight top nations studied, teachers are respected and treated as professionals with little if any outside interference.

More work is needed to secure and retain qualified teachers and principals for our nation’s schools. We need to elevate the profession to motivate candidates to choose education as their top career choice. Teachers deserve competitive pay and benefits aligned with other top professions, along with autonomy, and respect. This should stem the tide of attrition.

Countries should offer free tuition or low-to-no interest loans for students who choose education as a career. Some nations studied provide “free” tuition through college, even graduate school, and if at any point a person loses a job, she/he can return to school, retool and enter a new career.

We have a duty and obligation to add to the body of research as new information becomes available; specifically, those cycles and trends in the data that forewarn problems and inform policy decisions. Policies in how we address issues of diversity, equity, inclusion, and attrition, for instance, will shape the discourse of education for years to come.

Following a review of Ireland and the Netherlands, I will turn my attention to the top ten states in the United States to learn why they are successful.

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