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EDUCATION

Norwegian teens over the hump in global school rankings

Norwegian 15-year-olds have made clear improvements in the latest edition of the global Pisa education ranking.

Published: 6 December 2016 13:17 CET
Norwegian teens over the hump in global school rankings
Norwegian students are now above the OECD average in all three disciplines. Photo: Berit Roald / NTB scanpix
Norway’s students performed better in science, math and reading than they did three years ago, and are now above the OECD average in all three disciplines.
 
In the last Pisa rankings, released in 2013, Norwegian students were below average in both math and science, and only above average in reading.
 
In three years, Norwegian 15-year-olds increased by three points in science, five points in reading and one point in math. 
 
A total of 24 countries are above the OECD average in all three disciplines. 
 
Norway ranked 24th overall, ahead of countries like the US, Sweden, France, Russia and Spain. 
 
 
Singapore, Japan, Estonia, Taiwan and Finland topped the rankings, which tests 15-year-olds in 72 countries and territories. 
 
Norway is the third best Nordic country after Finland (5th) and Denmark (21st).
 
“On the right path”
“There are many indications that we are on the right path. We must thank the teachers and principals for the important work they do,” Education Minister Torbjørn Røe Isaksen said. 
 
In mathematics, Norway is among the countries with the greatest progress since the previous Pisa ranking. In science, the results have been stable since 2009, but there was a slight improvement compared to 2006.
 
But where Norwegian students really distinguish themselves is when it comes to reading. Norwegian teens are among the best in the entire OECD.
 
More details on Norway's Pisa performance can be see here:
 

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EDUCATION

Sweden’s Social Democrats call for ban on new free schools

Sweden's opposition Social Democrats have called for a total ban on the establishment of new profit-making free schools, in a sign the party may be toughening its policies on profit-making in the welfare sector.

Published: 18 April 2024 16:09 CEST
Sweden's Social Democrats call for ban on new free schools

“We want the state to slam on the emergency brakes and bring in a ban on establishing [new schools],” the party’s leader, Magdalena Andersson, said at a press conference.

“We think the Swedish people should be making the decisions on the Swedish school system, and not big school corporations whose main driver is making a profit.” 

Almost a fifth of pupils in Sweden attend one of the country’s 3,900 primary and secondary “free schools”, first introduced in the country in the early 1990s. 

Even though three quarters of the schools are run by private companies on a for-profit basis, they are 100 percent state funded, with schools given money for each pupil. 

This system has come in for criticism in recent years, with profit-making schools blamed for increasing segregation, contributing to declining educational standards and for grade inflation. 

In the run-up to the 2022 election, Andersson called for a ban on the companies being able to distribute profits to their owners in the form of dividends, calling for all profits to be reinvested in the school system.  

READ ALSO: Sweden’s pioneering for-profit ‘free schools’ under fire 

Andersson said that the new ban on establishing free schools could be achieved by extending a law banning the establishment of religious free schools, brought in while they were in power, to cover all free schools. 

“It’s possible to use that legislation as a base and so develop this new law quite rapidly,” Andersson said, adding that this law would be the first step along the way to a total ban on profit-making schools in Sweden. 

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