Education Policy Outlook 2018
Putting Student Learning at the Centre
Taking the students’ perspective, Education Policy Outlook 2018: Putting Student Learning at the Centre analyses the evolution of key education priorities and key education policies in 43 education systems. It compares more recent developments in education policy ecosystems (mainly between 2015 and 2017) with various education policies adopted between 2008 and 2014. This report includes around 200 policies spanning from early childhood education and care (ECEC) to higher education and lifelong learning on topics such as: improving the quality and access to ECEC, promoting education success for all students, reducing the negative impact of some system-level policies and practices, increasing completion of upper secondary education, developing quality vocational education and training, enhancing the quality of tertiary education, supporting transitions across education pathways and the labour market.
Iceland
Iceland scored below the OECD average in science in PISA 2015, with a mean score of 473 points, compared to the OECD average of 493 points. Performance in science has declined across PISA cycles, with an average score change of -7 score points, while performance in reading and mathematics has also decreased. At the same time, socio‑economic status had the lowest impact in the OECD on science performance in PISA 2015, explaining 4.9% of the variance in performance (OECD average: 12.9%). The impact of ESCS on performance in science has not changed since 2006. Iceland’s performance gap between boys and girls in science was -3 points, compared to the average difference across the OECD of 4 points. Immigrant students make up 4.1% of the student population of 15-year-olds in Iceland, a lower proportion than the OECD average of 12.5%. Performance differences between immigrant and non-immigrant students are among the highest in the OECD. Immigrants scored on average 66 score points lower than non-immigrants in science in PISA 2015, compared to the OECD average of 31 score points.