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Strengthening Upper Secondary Education in Lithuania

image of 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.

English

Executive summary

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. According to the OECD’s Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), attaining upper secondary education in Lithuania provides the smallest positive contribution across OECD countries to an individual’s performance. Of particular concern is the performance of students enrolled in Vocational education and training (VET). PIAAC suggests that VET in Lithuania contributes far less to young people’s skills and knowledge acquisition than in other countries, with young VET graduates performing at almost the same level as those who did not complete upper secondary education. Furthermore, VET students in Lithuania are more likely to leave their programme before completion compared to their peers in general education, and even when they do complete, they have a harder time finding employment compared to vocational graduates in other OECD countries.

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