Boosting basic skills invests in Europe’s future

Basic skills serve as a foundation for developing more advanced and complex competences, resulting in lifelong economic and social gains. Investing in basic skills is crucial for Europe's ability to innovate and achieve the "twin transition" towards a greener and more digitally driven future.

Boosting basic skills is also high on the political agenda. The Political Guidelines for the Next European Commission (2024-2029) focus strongly on "tackling skills and labour gaps" through improved basic skills and STEM education to ensure competitiveness, prosperity, and fairness in the EU.

Moreover, the 2024 report by Mario Draghi on EU competitiveness emphasizes the importance of skills, especially as artificial intelligence (AI) begins to affect all areas of life and work. Draghi states that "education and training systems have to equip citizens with high-quality skills in an inclusive manner.”

The European Commission has ongoing initiatives to address the concerns of EU leaders in the areas of basic skills and monitor member states’ performance in these regards. Most notably, within the context of establishment of an European Education Area (EEA), the European Commission has set an EU-level target of reducing the proportion of low-achieving 15-year-olds in basic skills to less than 15% by 2030.

The data source for measuring progress against this target is the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results, a global study conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD). PISA involves measuring 15-year-olds’ performance in reading, mathematics and science. Conducted every three years, PISA is believed to provide insights into the quality of school education in the participating countries and allow for the identification of trends.

Current trends and challenges in light of PISA results

For two consecutive cycles (2018 and 2022), the PISA results reveal concerning trends for the EU. According to the latest assessment, the average proportion of underachievers from member states has reached 30% for mathematics and around 25% in reading and science, significantly above the threshold target (15%) set by the EU Commission. Moreover, fewer than 10% of students achieved high competence levels on basic skills.

Moreover, the EU continues to lag behind other advanced economies in educational performance. In the 2018 and 2022 PISA rounds, the EU had lower average scores in reading and science compared to Canada, Japan, the UK, and the U.S., only surpassing the U.S. in mathematics.

This situation presents long-term risks to the EU's social cohesion and global competitiveness in a challenging geopolitical landscape. Worryingly, the trend across recent PISA results shows that the situation is deteriorating, underlining the urgency of the issue.

Equity dimension of underperformance

The PISA results also confirm that underachievement is significantly more common among disadvantaged students. In the EU, nearly half (48%) of disadvantaged students failed to meet the basic proficiency level in mathematics in 2022.

This is slightly above the OECD average of 47%. According to 2022 results, socio-economically disadvantaged students are seven times more likely to underachieve in mathematics and five times more likely on reading and science compared to advantaged students. Students with a migrant background underperform compared to peers with a non-migrant background and there are still some statistically significant discrepancies between boys and girls in performance in reading, science, and math.

What action has the EU taken already?

In 2022, EU member states adopted the Council Recommendation on Pathways to School Success, focusing on improving educational outcomes for all learners. The recommendation encourages member states to develop an integrated and comprehensive strategy for school success, with the goals of reducing early school leaving, promoting well-being in schools, and boosting basic skills. It outlines a policy framework for a systemic approach to school success that should inspire reforms.

Some EU member states have already undertaken initiatives aimed to boost basic skills and improve school success as detailed in the EC publication The Twin Challenge of Equity and Excellence in Basic Skills in the EU.

• Poland, a top performer in PISA, implemented an inclusive educational reform in 2022, increasing the number of specialists (school counsellors, psychologists, etc.) in mainstream schools and introducing a special educational needs teaching post. Additionally, a network of 23 inclusive education support centres was established with EU funding.
• In Denmark, the government focuses on improving basic skills by engaging students in real-world problem-solving, which has proven motivating. The maximum number of primary school students per class will also be reduced from 28 to 26.
• Greece lowered the starting age for compulsory education to four years. Fifty new model and experimental schools were also established to improve accessibility, supported by EU technical assistance.
• Hungary has enacted legislation to combat educational segregation by reducing state funding by 10% for primary schools with a significantly lower share of disadvantaged students compared to their local average, starting in January 2024.

The European Commission has also identified several approaches that may act as policy levers at both system and institutional levels for boosting basic skills, referred to as enabling factors or horizontal enablers.

These include cross-curricular learning, whole-school approaches, formative assessment, active learner participation in decision-making, support for innovative learning methodologies, and competence-oriented approaches for teaching staff. Data shows that these have varying degrees of adoption and further work is needed to assess their effectiveness and impact.

What can be done further in schools to boost basic skills?

Considering the challenges posed by the PISA results in basic skills, my experience in research, evaluation, and consulting in school education over the years, has provided me with some insights that may be helpful, 

1. Employ a holistic approach. First and foremost, no educational issue can be tackled in isolation, as they tend to be interrelated. Interventions that solely aim to increase academic test scores in basic skills will most likely fail, as we have seen time and time again. We should refrain from palliative measures which might involve short-term solutions to improve student performance without tackling the deeper, underlying issues, such as inadequate resources or systemic inequalities.
2. Build a culture of trust and wellbeing and the results will come. Students, like anyone, do their best work when they feel safe, valued, and motivated. Having trusted relationships with peers, teachers, and school leadership is crucial to unlock their performance in any task. Trust is cultivated through open communication and active participation, where student voices are heard, their individual needs are addressed, and their cultural backgrounds and experiences are respected and valued. In this sense, building competences for healthy communication, social, and emotional wellbeing and implementing measures to prevent bullying, cyberbullying, and harassment are crucial to foster a safer, trusting learning environment.
3. Make learning interesting and fun. This involves creating an engaging, relevant, and dynamic educational experience that inspires curiosity and encourages students to take an active role in their learning journey. When students are genuinely interested in what they are learning, their motivation and academic success naturally follow. Blended learning approaches where diverse natural, physical, and online learning environments are utilized together, digital learning tools, and the safe use of generative AI should be explored and promoted as alternatives to traditional rote instruction based on standardized tests.
4. Engage families and communities. When schools, families, and communities work together, a sustained sense of belonging, empowerment, and shared responsibility is fostered. However, schools must be accountable in their dealings with outside parties. When families and communities trust that schools are working in the best interests of their children, they are more likely to be engaged and supportive of the school's efforts. Whole-school approaches, in which all members of the school community, along with a wide range of stakeholders (e.g., non-formal education providers, social and health services, counsellors, therapists, local authorities, NGOs, businesses, etc.), actively engage in a collaborative manner, have proven particularly effective in this regard.
5. Support the well-being and development teachers and leaders. As teacher shortages continue to persist throughout Europe, the retention and capacity building of teachers and leaders are more important than ever. This includes support of well-being of teachers and improve the attractiveness of the teaching profession by improvement of working conditions in general.

In conclusion, although challenges persist, as highlighted by the latest PISA results, ongoing efforts by the European Commission, its expert partners, and individual member states offer hope for meaningful course correction by 2030. At ICF, we are working diligently to support the EU Commission’s efforts to improve basic skills and overall school success, contributing to policymaking that strengthens education systems and promotes inclusive learning environments, fostering a more prosperous and cohesive Europe.