Strengthening Upper Secondary Education in Lithuania
Upper secondary education in Lithuania stands out internationally with one of the highest attainment rates across OECD countries. Yet the country and its young people receive relatively modest returns in terms of learning outcomes for the country's high rates of upper secondary completion. To address this issue, Lithuania is currently undertaking a series of reforms at the upper secondary education level. This report explores how Lithuania, and its young people can achieve higher returns on its investment in upper secondary education and provides Lithuania with policy recommendations to help improve it by strengthening vocational education pathways and by consolidating upper secondary certification.
Assessment and Recommendations
Although Lithuania has one of the highest rates of attainment in upper secondary education among OECD countries (OECD, 2022[1]), upper secondary education seems to play a relatively modest role in shaping young adults’ skills compared to other OECD countries (OECD, 2012, 2015, 2018[2]). To improve the learning and outcomes of upper secondary graduates, Lithuania is currently undertaking a range of reforms at the upper secondary level (See Box 1.1). These include changes to how students enter upper secondary education, introduction of a new curriculum explicitly oriented towards competency development and reform of the national upper secondary examination and certification (the Matura). It is a pivotal moment for Lithuania to consolidate its upper secondary pathways and certification to provide greater depth in learning and more flexible options that support and recognise the breadth of competencies that matter for young people’s transitions into further education and work.