The report will make for interesting reading for teaching professionals keen to explore wider issues around inequality in learning, offering a global context that supports trends often seen in the UK.
PISA in practice: tackling low performance in maths; additional analysis of Pisa in England
Synopsis
The OECD’s Pisa ranks countries according to results in tests of maths and English. This report focuses on England's performance in PISA 2012. It explores the characteristics of those pupils who performed badly in maths, and identifies strategies for overcoming some of the characteristics, behaviours and attitudes associated with low performance.
The key findings of the report were that low-performing pupils in England have lower levels of engagement and less positive attitudes towards school than their higher-performing peers. This was also true when looking purely at the study of maths.
In England, female pupils, pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds, pupils with special educational needs or disabilities, pupils from ethnic minorities and those attending schools with a higher proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals were more likely to be low performers in the PISA maths assessment.