6/22/2018 What can PISA tell us about teacher policies?

Global perspectives on education and skills

What can PISA tell us

about teacher policies?
- June 11, 2018

By Francesco Avvisati
Analyst, Directorate for Education and Skills

Photo credit: Jeffrey Hamilton/Unsplash

Teachers are the most important resource in today’s schools. Teacher

salaries and training represent the greatest share of education spending
in every country, and for good reason: students who are taught by the

best teachers have much higher chances of succeeding in learning and

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life. It should come as no surprise, then, that policy makers across the
world have focused greater attention on teaching, as they strive to
improve student learning and make education more equitable and
inclusive.

A new report published today aims to guide policy-makers in their quest

for effective teacher policies by analysing data from the Programme for
International Student Assessment (PISA) and other OECD databases.
Our report, Effective Teacher Policies: Insights from PISA, examines how
the best-performing countries select, develop, evaluate and compensate
teachers; how teacher sorting across schools affects the equity of
education systems; and how countries can attract and retain talented
candidates to the teaching profession.

It is entirely within our means to attract, retain and

develop high-quality teachers.

The report shows that not all students have equal access to high-quality
teaching, and that this inequality can explain much of the learning gaps
observed between the most advantaged and disadvantaged students –
both within and across countries. (See this month’s PISA in Focus for
more.) In about half of the 69 countries and economies examined,
teachers in schools with high concentrations of disadvantaged students
tend to have lower quali cations or credentials than teachers in the most
advantaged schools. And in education systems where this is observed –
including France, Italy, the Netherlands and the public school system in
the United States – the gap in student performance related to socio-
economic status tends to be wider than in countries such as Canada,
Finland, Japan, or Korea, where teacher quali cations, credentials and
experience are more balanced across schools.

The report also nds that in some countries, teachers truly are seen as
lifelong learners, who constantly seek to improve their practice with
support from principals and colleagues. High-performing countries such

as Australia and Singapore help teachers bridge between theory and

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practice with a mandatory and extended period of practical classroom
training at the start of their career. These countries cultivate a habit of
inquiry and re ection throughout teachers’ careers, as well – for
example, through school workshops to address major issues or by using
teacher evaluation instruments to develop a learning plan for all
teachers.

And contrary to popular belief, our report shows that high-performing

systems do not enjoy a natural privilege simply due to a traditional
respect for teachers. These systems have also developed a high-quality
teaching force through deliberate policy choices that were carefully
implemented over time. There is, in other words, no room to feel
complacent or resigned about the education system of any country. As
our report shows, it is entirely within our means to attract, retain and
develop high-quality teachers, and to deploy the best teachers where the
challenges are greatest, thereby redressing the inequities that limit
opportunities for so many students.

Learn more:

Effective Teacher Policies: Insights from PISA

PISA in Focus no. 85: In which countries do the most highly quali ed
and experienced teachers teach in the most di cult schools? 

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