Lack of vision for Swedish schools, an academic reflects on PISA results
Anders Jakobsson, professor of education, does not believe that the pandemic is the main reason for the poor results.
The results of the PISA report show a broad decline in knowledge for Swedish students. "I cannot see any planned measures that could change this development," says Anders Jakobsson, a professor at Malmö University.
PISA is an international study that measures 15-year-olds' knowledge in mathematics, reading and science. The results for 2022 were presented on Tuesday and show a decline in many areas for Swedish students compared to 2018.
... you have to do something about the increasing school segregation if you want to solve the problem.
Professor Anders Jakobsson
“It is a depressing picture that follows a pattern we have seen for a long time, a decline in all subjects. During the 80s and 90s, we had a world-leading schools, both in terms of results but also in compensating the socio-economic background of the students. We lack a description of objectives and visions of how to get back to such a position. Neither politicians nor the National Agency for Education can provide that picture,” says Anders Jakobsson, a professor of education.
Swedish results in maths and reading comprehension are back at the same level as the low point in 2012.
“One of the more serious issues is that around a quarter of pupils are performing below the pass mark. I see this as extremely serious for a modern knowledge-based society. It could have important knock-on effects for Swedish society in the future.”
The National Agency for Education points to the pandemic as a likely cause of the deteriorating results. They also see the large differences between pupils with different socio-economic backgrounds, where pupils with lower socio-economic backgrounds perform less well.
“The trend of reduced equivalence has not changed. You can point out that the pandemic probably has some effect, but it does not seem to be different in Sweden compared to other countries because we kept the schools open more than in other countries. I've been saying the same thing since 2009, you have to do something about the increasing school segregation if you want to solve the problem. The countries with the highest results also have very low school segregation," adds Jakobsson.
Text: Marc Malmqvist
