In the overall ranking of nations England, (not UK) has moved up from 13th to 8th. Their scores didn't really change. They held their scores while others dropped. Eighth for a western nation, is a high score against the usual Asian tigers. 

 

The top 10 were PRC China (only best provinces tested) Singapore (most of the unskilled work of the city is done by Malaysians whose children are educated in Malaysia). Macao, (not a country) Taiwan (a rebel province of China) Japan, Estonia, Korea, UK, Canada, New Zealand.

 

It is tempting to disqualify all of the Asian tigers except Japan and South Korea. Even Korea uses a vast tutoring system to maintain their scores. Based on this, the UK would be 4th, Canada 5th and Australia 7th. That’s really an excellent result and when you reduce the list to only the west, it’s even better. The countries that straddle the OECD average, for example, are countries like Portugal, France, Hungary, Spain and Italy. 

 

The problem for Canada and Australia is not their scores, it's their trajectory. They seem downwardly mobile. 

 

England is top 10 across all 3 subject areas tested. The reasons the OECD likes where England is going involves a more explicit curriculum, emphasis on knowledge, in the Daniel Willingham tradition, higher expectations, strong emphasis on behaviour and discipline, and we have to include phonics. The general consensus on phonics has shifted, and even the skeptics now say ‘’phonics is necessary but insufficient.’’ It clearly has to be factored into the equation. 

 

The OECD has lots of praise for Canada, mainly due to its high score in an environment where it has twin priorities of high scores, as well as socioeconomic fairness. The flipside is the downward drift. Too many students are below proficiency. There was a 12% drop in math, 11% in reading, and 5% in science. That's not a disaster but it is a warning. Interestingly, problems seem to stem from teacher shortages, too much tolerance of bad behaviour, and too much use of technology in the classroom. 

 

Canadians need not travel to Singapore or Korea for a math improvement formula. Quebec, a ‘have not’ province has a math PISA score of 514. Canada is 497 and rich Ontario is 495. Quebec is 17 points ahead of Canada. This is not a rounding error. 

 

As we head to a conclusion, a very old, but tried and true formula emerges from the data fog. An excellent curriculum, quality teaching, full attendance, classroom order, and high expectations are the key. Do not lard the curriculum up to please every interest group. 

 

A final word to England, Decline is not inevitable. To Canada achievement does not need to come at the expense of equity. To Australia, decline sneaks up on you, when you tolerate bad behaviour. This is your yellow card mate. 
 

Australia is in the same boat and the boat seems to have a few leaks. On one hand, being 13th of 65 OECD nations is great but both Australia and Canada are cruising at best. Australia is posting its lowest scores in its history. The problem has been noticed both ‘down under’ and by OECD, and the emphasis here again is far too much wasted instruction time due to weak attendance and intolerable behaviour. 

 

The classic problem in education is that poor kids do badly on average and the higher your poverty rate the worse your scores will be. That is still true, however, we know the base lines and the recent trajectories. It would seem that technology and miscreant behaviour take us beyond poverty. Covid, absenteeism, cellphones and the over inclusion of kids in general education with Oppositional Defiant Disorder or ODD, and Autism, has gone too far. Certainly some kids with milder issues can benefit from inclusion but many cannot. There is an obvious threshold, good behaviour keeps you included and bad behaviour sees the student placed in special education classes.