FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE LETTER, SEE THE PUBLICATION IN ‘GLOBAL POLICY':
http://www.globalpolicyjournal.com/blog/05/05/2014/questioning-oecd%E2%80%99s-growing-role-public-education
AND THE GUARDIAN
http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/may/06/academics-international-school-league-tables-killing-joy-of-learning
ANSWERS (IN CAPS) TO QUESTIONS BY A NORWEGIAN JOURNALIST (HANNE JAKOBSEN, MORGENBLADET)
Dear Dr. Meyer,
My name is Hanne Jakobsen, I work as a journalist for the Norwegian newspaper Morgenbladet, and I’m currently writing a brief article about the open letter in The Guardian about PISA and the negative consequences of this test. I have a few questions I’d like to ask you, and with the time difference between the US and Norway, I thought it easiest to send them via e-mail:
– Why did you decide to organize this letter? What is your main concern with PISA?
THE IMMEDIATE PROMPT FOR WRITING THE LETTER WAS A DISCUSSION WITH MR. SCHLEICHER AT THE AMERICAN EDUCATION RESEARCH ASSOCIATION CONFERENCE IN PHILADELPHIA IN APRIL 2014 WHERE HE DISMISSED CRITICISM ABOUT PISA’S NARROW FOCUS ON ECONOMICALLY USEFUL SKILLS AND ABOUT THE DISPROPORTION BETWEEN OECD’S INFLUENCE ON GLOBAL PUBLIC EDUCATION AND THEIR INACCESSIBILITY TO DEMOCRATIC CONTROLS.
– Norwegian politicians who are positive to standardized testing often say that PISA influences the media more than it does schools and teachers – who know that PISA scores is only a small part of the picture. Isn’t that a legitimate point? Are the critics of school testing and PISA exaggerating the importance of this one test?
THERE ARE NUMEROUS EXAMPLES WHERE GOVERNMENTS HAVE DECLARED THEIR EDUCATION SYSTEMS “IN CRISIS” AND BEGUN FUNDAMENTAL REFORM BASED ON PISA PRECEPTS (GERMANY, JAPAN, MEXICO, GREECE, NEW ZEALAND, AND NOW SWEDEN, WHICH HAS JUST INVITED OECD TO COME HELP SOLVE THEIR “ED CRISIS”). IT WOULD SEEM THAT IT IS THOSE GOVERNMENTS WHICH EXAGGERATE THE ROLE OF PISA, NOT THE CRITICS.
– Do you think the OECD might actually postpone the next round of PISA, as you suggest?
THE POINT OF THIS SUGGESTION IS TO CALL ATTENTION TO THE FACT THAT THERE IS NOTHING AUTOMATIC OR INEVITABLE ABOUT PISA. IT CAN BE PUT IN PLACE AND STOPPED BY PEOPLE.
Heinz-Dieter Meyer (Ph.D. Cornell University) is Associate Professor of Education and Governance at the State University of New York. His latest book is “PISA, Power, and Policy—The Emergence of Global Educational Governance, Oxford: Symposium” (co-edited with A Benavot). He is also author of “OECD’s PISA—A Tale of Flaws and Hubris”, Teachers College Record. He has taught at the University of Goettingen (Germany) and the State University of New York, and held many visiting appointments including at Peking University and the East-West Institute (Hawaii). More information on the letter can be found at:
https://albany.academia.edu/heinzdietermeyer
Hi, I am looking for a possibility to sign the letter. I got directed here from http://www.globalpolicyjournal.com/blog/05/05/2014/open-letter-andreas-schleicher-oecd-paris
How to do it?
I let myself to provide a Polish translation of the letter at:
http://offfundacja.pl/list-otwarty-do-dyrektora-pisa-dra-andreasa-schleichera/
I would very much like to join the venture as OFF Foundation, non-government educational venture from Poland. We are about to publish a report showing that this extraordinary growth in PISA scale was achieved with shifts in sampling group. The number of students with highly educated parents jumped some three times between 2009 and 2012.
Regards, Paweł Kasprzak
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Hi!
I am looking for a way to sign the letter as OFF Foundation, an independent, non-gov venture from Poland. I got directed to this page from
http://www.globalpolicyjournal.com/blog/05/05/2014/open-letter-andreas-schleicher-oecd-paris
I cannot see how to sign. Could someone help, please?
I let myself to provide a Polish translation of the original text at:
http://offfundacja.pl/list-otwarty-do-dyrektora-pisa-dra-andreasa-schleichera/
We are about to publish an independent report showing that Polish growth in PISA scale (internationally appreciated) was achieved by manipulating the sample group. The number of students from highly educated families jumped some three times between 2009 and 2012.
I think, you are doing a good job with this letter. I would suggest, though, that similar letters should as well be written and published at national level and scientists, journalists and politicians who have commented PISA league rankings should be called by their names now to explain their stated opinions, recommendations and even regulations based on PISA rankings. We will do so in Polish case and we think its is important.
What we see here is a dramatic collapse of education system and its is fueled by PISA propaganda. We believe what is at stake here really is not only the quality of public education, but cultural paradigms as a matter of fact.
Greetings, Paweł Kasprzak
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