Tag: PISA test

China’s PISA Success—Less Than Meets the Eye

Commentary Following Chairman Mao’s lead, Chinese propaganda often referred to America as a Paper Tiger back in the day, implying a lack of substance behind a strong facade. Although the term hasn’t found much use recently, there’s no lack of apt applications vying for attention. One, ironically, concerns China’s position as the highest-scoring participant in…


Australian Curriculum to Give Greater Emphasis on First Nation Australians

Schools around Australia will now prioritise teaching the culture, perspectives, and history of ‘First Nation Australians’ in the subjects of History, and English under a newly proposed curriculum that has been opened up for public review. Under the new curriculum, students will learn that about ‘First Nation Australians’—the new term for indigenous Australians—perceived the First Fleet’s…


Increased School Funding Does Not Lead to Better Performance: Education Minister

The Australian education minister Alan Tudge disagreed with calls saying increased education funding would lead to better student results. Instead, Tudge said recruiting quality teachers was more important and pointed to the United Kingdom (UK) as an example where more qualified staff resulted in improved student results. The UK has cut spending while achieving better results in…


Australian Education Performance ‘Declining Across the Board’: Education Minister

The average Australian 15-year-old is now around one academic year behind those of the same age from two decades ago, says the federal education minister. Alan Tudge says despite the 38 percent increase in education funding over the last decade, education performance has dropped “in both absolute terms and relative to other countries.” Australian students…