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Horace Mann, the 19th century American educator, famously referred to education as “a great equaliser”. At a time when the magnitude of income inequality is threatening to tear the social fabric of many OECD countries, it is well worth reviewing our education systems to see whether and how well they are working to provide all students – not just those whose parents can afford it – a quality education.
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This chapter focuses on the key resource in education: teachers. Based on PISA 2012 results, it discusses how the quality of financial and teaching resources is associated with student performance – particularly in disadvantaged schools. The chapter examines how some countries manage to recruit the best candidates to become teachers, how these teachers are trained to provide quality education in difficult circumstances, and how some countries attract and retain high-quality teachers in disadvantaged schools.
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This chapter focuses on equity in the context of more devolved education systems. Based on PISA 2012 results, it shows the association between school autonomy over curricula and assessments and students’ mathematics performance, the relationship between performance and accountability arrangements, and what parents look for in choosing a school for their child. The chapter discusses the importance of avoiding socio-economic segregation among schools, of informing all parents of the choices available to them, and of investing in early childhood education.
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Using results from PISA 2012, this chapter shows how certain practices that select and sort students, like tracking and grade repetition, are often associated with students’ socio-economic status and with their performance in mathematics. The chapter makes the case for reducing the use of grade repetition and early tracking, identifying at-risk students and intervening early on, providing a continuum of support for struggling students, and holding high expectations for all students.
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Excellence and equity in student performance are less related to a country’s income or expenditure on education than to how those educational resources are allocated, and to the policies, practices and learning environments that determine the conditions in which students work. This chapter identifies some of the steps policy makers can take to build school systems that are both equitable and excellent: attract, nurture and retain qualified teachers; allocate resources equitably; make pre-primary education accessible to all; and avoid socio-economic segregation within school systems.