Measuring Up: Canadian Results of the OECD Pisa Study, Essay Example

Though the majority of researchers, educators, and policymakers have repeatedly emphasized the importance of state-wide and nation-wide statistics as a prime indicator of student success, there is much doubt about the real power of test-based indicators to provide a realistic image of the students’ progress. Indeed, the extreme reliance on test-based statistics is a major pitfall of both Canadian and American educational systems; however, the attention of the international community is attracted by figures, not the real-life state of affairs in the Canadian and American classrooms. Hence, there is a clear need to focus more closely on the achievement of feasible outcomes that would be revealed in both statistics and day-to-day education.

At the present moment, the superiority of Canadian achievement indicators is doubtless  according to the estimates of Knighton et al. (2010), achievement of Canadian students is assessed at the 6^th in reading, 8^th in sciences, and 10^th in math, while the US indicators are 17^th, 23^rd, and 32^nd respectively. The current figures indicate the need for the USA to reform education, and introduce some fundamental changes that would enable policymakers to look beyond the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act, and to think not about getting through the bottom line for the sake of school funding, but about the ability to deliver high-quality education at the individualized, not “one size fits all” level.

Canada also experiences problems in the educational field though its position in the overall OECD ranking is quite high. Knighton et al. (2010) described the crisis of Canadian education as stagnation, which means that the majority of effort is dedicated to retaining the high level of achievement standards instead of trying to move ahead. Thus, my role as an educator wishing to go beyond the limits of the classroom is seen by me as introducing recent research and innovation into classroom practice. There is a clear need to think proactively, originally, and individualistically. Canadian students also require much attention in terms of remaining updated about the latest developments and achievements in the field of education. Hence, I believe that the originality of approaches, and heavy reliance on the latest research and best practices worldwide will help raise the achievement levels, moving both Canada and the USA up the OECD ranking list.

References

Knighton, T., et al. (2010). Measuring up: Canadian Results of the OECD PISA study, The Performance of Canada’s Youth in Reading, Mathematics and Science. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 81-590-XPE. Ottawa. Retrieved from http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/81-590-x/81-590-x2010001-eng.pdf