Aleksandar Baucal Faculty of Philosophy, Belgrade It is not the most important where we are today, but how to be better tomorow

Before we start… A child that enrolled in elementary school in september 2008 shall graduate from high school in By then Serbia will be an EU member state even according to the most pessimistic estimates! How much can current education system prepare children for such a future?

Why is PISA important for Serbia? Children currently in school will be EU citizens and that is the reason why it is important monitor the capability of the education system to prepare them for the future It demonstrates the ability of the education system to support development of economy and society PISA is an important instrument of measuring certain EU indicators related to the Lisbon Agenda implementation For example, one benchmark for 2010 is to reduce the percentage of functionally illiterate to 17% It represents a reference report about the education quality in certain country.

QUALITY OF EDUCATION Mathematic Literacy Scientific Literacy Reading Literacy

% students at two ends of the PISA scale: Mathematic Literacy % functionally illiterate (level 1 and below) % on the highest levels (levels 5 and 6)

% students at the two ends of the PISA scale: Reading Literacy % functionally illiterate (level 1 and below) %on the highest levels (levels 5 and 6)

A bit more about the functionally illiterate PISA does not cover the whole population of youth older than 15 years => % of functionally illiterate is higher if student that drop out of the system after 8 th grade are taken into account Within the reading literacy, the % of the functionally illiterate has increased by 5% between 2003 and 2006 (in two other criteria it has remained at the same level) Students Mathematical Literacy Reading Literacy Scientific Literacy 20% of the poorest students 65.2% (2.5) 73.9% (2.6) 59% (2.3) Total Population 42.6%51.7%38.5%

An example of 2 nd level question What is the height of each step? Height: _________ cm The picture below shows stairs with 14 steps and height of 252 cm: Total depth 400cm Total Height 252cm

There are some good news: Quality lower, equity lower Equity of education Quality of education Equity in Serbia is somewhat better than in OECD countries

Equity: there is one “but” The poorest students within the 20% most successful students group are 3.7 times less likely to enroll to gymnasium One possible explanation: poor student are “forced” to enroll into trade schools to reach employment as soon as possible -> both individual and society lose! Possible win-win solution: providing stipends to these students!

PISA results in wider the context

PISA results in the context

PISA results in the wider context: possible conclusion Results could be better in current condition => Does that suggest that education system lacks motive? Does that mean that significant improvements in quality and equity could be achieved through “mobilization”?

National Perspective: Quality and equity of education in different parts of Serbia?

National Testing Institute for quality evaluation in education Year 2004 Elementary school 3 rd grade Representative sample, 4500 students Math and Serbian Language (knowledge and skills from the national curriculum)

Math: achievementsMath: quality

Math: Equity

Quality is already there! Achieved Expected What needs to be done? Notice! Promote! Widen!

Thank you for your attention!