Education Reforms in Poland: what lessons for other countries?

Maciej JakubowskiEvidence Institute

Santander, July 2016

Outline

• Main policies and outcomes of the reforms

• The 1999 reform

• 2007/2008 Curriculum reform

• 2009 School evaluation reform

• Early education reform

• Further challenges

PISA cycles and the Polish reforms

PISA2012PISA2009PISA2006PISA2003PISA2000

PISA cycles and the Polish reforms

PISA2012PISA2009PISA2006PISA2003PISA2000

1999

• Change of the school structure• Longer comprehensive education• School autonomy

REFORM

• External examination system• Decentralisation• New scheme for teachers promotion and remuneration

PISA cycles and the Polish reforms

PISA2012PISA2009PISA2006PISA2003PISA2000

1999

REFORM

2008

• New core curriculum

• New exams

REFORM

• Learning outcomes

• Problem-solving

The 1999 school reform goals

• to improve teaching quality

• to increase educational opportunities

• to improve efficiency

The 1999 reform major components

• Change of the school structure• Further decentralization• New financing scheme• School and teacher autonomy• National exams• New professional scheme for teachers

change of the school structure• The eight-year basic primary education was replaced by

six years primary school and three years comprehensive lower secondary school.

• Students were offered the opportunity to follow the same curriculum for nine instead of eight years.

• The selection of students into academic and vocational tracks was therefore postponed by one year until the age of 16.

• Upper secondary education was shortened by one year and education remained obligatory until the age of 18.

Decentralization

• School ownership and governance given to local governments.

• Most of the financing still comes from the central budget, but the local governments distribute them among schools in their area.

• Local governments employ school principals and accept teaching plans, but school principals employ teachers and run schools independently.

School Financing• The new financing scheme based on a per pupil formula replaced the old

system of financing schools based on historical costs.• It improved overall efficiency and began a large transition of school

network. • These changes were necessary as due to demographic decline funding of

smaller schools became truly problematic. • Poland has now one of the most efficient school systems • Administered at the local level with important regulatory powers left to the

central government. • For example, although most of the financing still comes from the central

budget, the local governments distribute them among schools in their area. • Teacher salaries are still centrally regulated, however, local governments

have some margin to differentiate them according to locally set criteria.

School and Teacher Autonomy

• Textbook market was freed and the right to chose learning materials was given to teachers.

• Teachers independently decide what materials and what methods to use in their classrooms.

• Teachers are evaluated independently from local governments.

External Exams• With increased decentralization and school autonomy, it

was necessary to introduce a new accountability system to monitor student outcomes.

• The new standardized national exams were launched in 2002 with all students in the final grades of the primary and the lower secondary school taking obligatory exams in core subjects.

• Later, standardized exams were introduced at the upper secondary level (serving also as entrance exams to tertiary education) and in vocational schools (now providing a final exam to obtain professional qualifications).

new professional scheme for teachers

• To motivate teachers professional development a new professional scheme was introduced.

• Four professional levels are now linked to different salary levels. • Currently, nearly all Polish teachers have masters degrees in

relevant subjects with around 50% at the highest professional level.

• The system is criticized for not measuring real teacher effort it motivated teachers to improve their qualifications.

• Today, teachers are among the most active professional groups when it comes to post-graduate studies and professional training.

PISA 2000: country average and between school differences

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01000200030004000500060007000400

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480

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540

560

Between-school variance

Coun

try

aver

age

in re

adin

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Low scoresHigh differences

High scoresLow DifferencesHigh scores

Large differences

Low scoresLow differences

Poland in PISA 2000

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01000200030004000500060007000400

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560

Between-school variance

Coun

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Low scoresLarge differences

Poland in PISA 2009

16

01000200030004000500060007000400

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Between-school variance

Coun

try

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Low differences

Poland in PISA 2009

2007/2008 Curriculum Reform• The old curriculum focused on what teachers should teach

rather than what knowledge and skills students should acquire.

• Rapid changes in Polish education, economy and society called for a modernization of the curriculum.

• The reform began in 2007 with a consultation process that included all major stakeholders. After a year of discussions, a new curriculum was passed as law in 2008.

• The new curriculum was introduced gradually, with the last changes only recently implemented in upper secondary schools.

2007/2008 Curriculum Reform

The new curriculum was developed under these principles:• Describe the expected learning outcomes for each

stage of education• Indicate the main objectives of teaching each

school subject• Define the requirements of central assessments• Constitute a coherent part of the Polish

Qualifications Framework

Major Effects of the New Curriculum

• The new curriculum had two major effects:– It strengthened teachers’ autonomy — and responsibility– It further shifted the emphasis from knowledge acquisition to critical

and analytical thinking• Polish students’ improvement between the PISA 2009 and

2012 was mostly the result of better responses to items measuring more complex, analytical thinking.

• The reform also included group projects and emphasized cross-curricular skills.

• The reform was also introduced in vocational schools• National exams were aligned with the new curriculum.

School Evaluation Reform

• Evaluating the education activity of schools and educational establishments;

• Auditing compliance with the law with respect to teaching and care activities and other statutory activities of schools and educational establishments; and

• Supporting the operation of schools and educational establishments and supporting teachers in carrying out their tasks in the area of teaching, care and other statutory activities.

School evaluation system in Poland

External evaluation

Internal evaluation

RequirementsReports

School reforms and PISA outcomes in Poland

1999

REFORM

2008

REFORM

2000 2003 2006 2009 2012470

480

490

500

510

520

530

reading mathematics science

OECDaverage

Re-analysis with 3PL IRT model and Polish data only(Dolata, Jakubowski, Pokropek, 2015)

Trends in performance across subjects and groups of students

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

low achievers high achievers

Early Education Reform• The reform made preschool education compulsory at the age of

five beginning in the school year 2011/12. • Since 2015, primary education has become compulsory for all 6-

year-olds. • In 2013, the government introduced a new law that secured

places for all 3- and 4-year-olds in preschool education. • In addition, preschool education became much more affordable

thanks to new regulations that offer the first five hours per day free of charge and allow local governments to charge no more than PLN 1 (less than EUR 0.25) for each additional hour.

• The goal is to reach 90% enrollment rate for 3-5-year-olds

15 years of reforms

• It is a continuum of changes despite all usual politics: big jumps, two steps backwards, three steps forward

• Main characteristic: expansion of comprehensive education

• But also: school autonomy, soft accountability, teacher professionalization, student-centered and outcomes oriented curriculum and practice

Extending comprehensive education for all

3-5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

before 1999

Pre--school "0" primary

general secondary higher education secondary vocational

basic vocational

Extending comprehensive education for all

3-5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

before 1999

Pre--school "0" primary

general secondary

higher education

secondary vocational

basic vocational

after 1999

Pre--school "0" primary lower

secondary

general secondary

secondary vocational

general/vocational

basic vocational

Extending comprehensive education for all

3-5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

before 1999

Pre--school "0" primary

general secondary

higher education

secondary vocational

basic vocational

after 1999

Pre--school "0" primary lower

secondary

general secondary

secondary vocational

general/vocational

basic vocational

after2014

Pre--school primary lower

secondary

General secondary

secondary vocational

basic vocational

Further Challenges• Young adults in Poland have strong foundation skills,

but older generations lack such skills (PIAAC results)

• Students in Poland lack ICT skills and need to improve their ability to master foreign languages

• Tertiary education graduation rate is above 50%

• Levels of unemployment among young people are comparatively high and they are higher still among youngsters without a tertiary education degree

Learning to learn:What competencies will be needed in 20 years?

Forecasting vs. help students learn how to learn

Balancing different skills: a holistic approach to educationBusinesses in Poland rarely complain about lack of skills in

mathematics or reading among prospective employees. Companies often complain about lack of social skills,

language proficiency and ICT. Change in focus?

34

What next?

Key goals:

I. SOCIAL SKILLS: Identify what practices enable to develop social skills and develop instruments to assess such skills

II. ICT: Ensure that all students leave school with solid ICT skills and that students are as proficient on computers as they are when solving problems on paper.

III. VET: Develop and promote a more flexible vocational training system

IV. Equity: Ensure equal opportunities to master key competences

V. Creating space for innovations for the best educated generation of Poles!!!

35

What next?

Effective use of research

Effective structures are necessary

• Two main challenges:– Massive amount of information– Limited capacity to transform that into policy advice and

useful hints for practitioners• Two typical structural problems:

– Centralized institutions– Research-oriented with weak links to policy and practice

• Two typical research-related problems:– Lack of capacity to conduct „policy-friendly” research– Focus on data gathering rather than effective use of existing

data in secondary analysis

Effective use of research1. Knowledge brokers/research managers are necessary

• Specialized institutions to prepare policy-friendly products• Special units within then ministries to manage

knowledge-brokers/research and to use evidence effectively within the government

• Disseminate findings among practitioners• Work on research targets with policy makers and practitioners

2. Contract research through grants and shift funding to secondary analysis

3. Add impact and financial analysis to all government documents

Evidence and policy… and politics Research evidence was used to motivate reforms to

face existing challenges Research was used to defend reforms by showing their

outcomes (existing and potential) or by describing with data what issues need to be addressed• School structure• Early education reform• Curriculum reform

Current government actions are mainly political and often against the evidence:– Abandon support for early education reform– Plans to transform lower-secondary schools– Back to knowledge-oriented curriculum

How to support evidence-based policy making in EU?

Require evaluation for all EU-funded projectsSupport research comparing policies and

outcomes across European countries Good examples: Eurydice, PIAAC Not that good examples: ESLC Very limited use of secondary analysis

Support policy-relevant research but also promote independent knowledge-brokers

Bermuda triangle of education reforms

Centralized + limited

autonomy

No accountabilityLack of Focus on learning outcomes

Low quality

Teachers as bureaucrats

Limited professional

support

Key components of successful

school systems

Decentralized + school

autonomy

Soft accountability

focusing on learning

outcomes

High qualitylearning

Teacher as professionals

www.evidenceinstitute.eu mj@evidenceinstitute.eu

@MaciejEvidence