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Pisa skills key to pupils' success, first minister says Pisa: Pupils in Wales 'lack ambition' says Andreas Schleicher
(about 5 hours later)
Welsh youngsters need to show they have the skills they need to succeed anywhere in the world, the first minister will tell head teachers later. Complacency and a lack of ambition from pupils has led to Wales being the worst performing in the UK in international education tests, it is claimed.
Carwyn Jones will give a keynote address at a Cardiff conference on the Pisa international education tests. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) education chief Andreas Schleicher said pupils must try harder.
OECD runs Pisa tests which are taken by 500,000 15-year-olds in 68 countries.
Mr Schleicher's comments come as First Minister Carwyn Jones gives a speech in Cardiff on the evaluations.
The education chief told BBC Radio Wales: "I think, in part, it's because other education systems have improved their performance and in relative terms Wales has declined.
"It's also been an actual slippage and there's sort of less aspiration and less ambition in the system.
"You can expect a lower performance from disadvantaged schools but the fact that even schools in well-off areas of Wales don't live up to other schools in similar conditions shows that there is a bit of complacency in the system."
Wales has been the worst performing UK nation in the three-yearly tests prompting a drive to improve standards.Wales has been the worst performing UK nation in the three-yearly tests prompting a drive to improve standards.
The international organisation behind the tests has criticised Wales for a lack of long-term vision for education. 'Demand for better skills'
The concerns raised by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in April were first highlighted in a report for the Welsh government more than six years ago, unpublished at the time but recently passed to the BBC. Mr Schleicher criticised Wales for a lack of long-term vision for education.
Falling behind He said: "Your education system today is your economy tomorrow.
Pisa tests in science, maths, and reading were taken by 500,000 15-year-olds in 68 countries in 2012. "There's a very, very close linkage between the skills that people develop in school and what they're able to do later in life. Our economies are evolving very rapidly. The demand for better skills, for the right skills.
Once again, Wales was ranked bottom of the four UK nations and fell further behind other countries, with east Asian cities and nations coming out on top. "The knowledge economy no longer pays you for what you know... it pays you for what you can do with what you know."
He also criticised the mindset of Welsh students.
He said: "We ask them a simple question - what do you believe makes you successful in mathematics?
"You find many students in Wales who tell you, 'well, it's all about talent, if I'm not born a genius in mathematics I'd better study something else'.
"If you ask the same question to a Chinese person or a Finn, students will tell you, 'if I try hard and trust my teachers to help me, I'm going to be successful'."
'Change culture'
Mr Schleicher said the culture of education must change.
He said: "The fact that many countries on Pisa have seen significant improvements - if you look at Poland in Europe, or Germany in Europe or some countries in Asia. The fact that they are improving shows that you can change that culture."
The concerns raised by the OECD in April were first highlighted in a report for the Welsh government more than six years ago, unpublished at the time but recently passed to the BBC.
Wales was ranked bottom of the four UK nations and fell further behind other countries, with east Asian cities and nations coming out on top.
Reforms including statutory reading and numeracy tests had already been introduced in Wales following previous disappointing Pisa results.Reforms including statutory reading and numeracy tests had already been introduced in Wales following previous disappointing Pisa results.
Speaking before the conference on Wednesday, Mr Jones said he wanted to put "pride back into our education system", stressing there was much more to Pisa than the nation's global ranking in education. 'Pride in education'
Speaking before the conference on Wednesday, Mr Jones said he wanted to put "pride back into our education system".
"Pisa skills are the skills our young people need to succeed not only in Wales, but anywhere in the world," he said."Pisa skills are the skills our young people need to succeed not only in Wales, but anywhere in the world," he said.
"They're the attributes that employers tell us they want; they are the key to preparing our young people for being learners for life. "They're the attributes that employers tell us they want; they are the key to preparing our young people for being learners for life."
"So yes, they're important. They tell us as a country how we're doing by our young people.
"That's why we're putting so much stock in them and why they're going to be a key component in Welsh education for many years to come."
Partnership call
Education Minister Huw Lewis, who will also address the conference, said reforms had been put in place to secure "rapid improvement" in pupils' performance.
"We must drive up standards and outcomes for all learners at all levels in all schools," he said.
"I'm keen to do this in a spirit of social partnership with head teachers, teachers and all in the education sector.
"We can raise standards but only if we pull together in the same direction."
The conference will also hear from OECD director for education and skills Andreas Schleicher, who runs the Pisa tests.
He has previously claimed that the impact of poverty on education has been overstated, pointing out that maths results for the poorest children in Shanghai matched those of the wealthiest UK pupils.