UK 'second best education in Europe'

[Perthbum]

Australia not to shabby at 15

 

The UK is in second place among European countries and sixth overall in a global education league table.

South Korea is top, with three other Asian countries and Finland making up the top five, in rankings from education and publishing firm, Pearson.

The rankings include higher education as well as international school tests - which boosted the UK's position.

Pearson chief executive John Fallon highlighted the economic importance of improving education and skills.

These latest international comparisons, compiled for Pearson by the Economist Intelligence Unit, emphasise the success of Asian education systems, with South Korea, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong in China rated as the highest performing.

But it shows a strong performance from the UK, which is ranked sixth, behind only Finland in Europe and ahead of countries such as Germany, France and the United States.

 

• 1. South Korea
  
• 2. Japan
  
• 3. Singapore
  
• 4. Hong Kong
  
• 5. Finland
  
• 6. UK
  
• 7. Canada
  
• 8. Netherlands
  
• 9. Ireland
  
• 10. Poland
  
• 11. Denmark
  
• 12. Germany
  
• 13. Russia
  
• 14. United States
  
• 15. Australia
  
• 16. New Zealand
  
• 17. Israel
  
• 18. Belgium
  
• 19. Czech Republic
  
• 20. Switzerland
  

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-27314075

 

[Guest]

I've always thought the UK knocks out some great barmen

[Guest Guest66881]

I've always thought the UK knocks out some great barmen

Not just the uk, most people i reckon:laugh:

[Guest guest30085]

I've always thought the UK knocks out some great barmen

 

:biglaugh::wink:

[Skani]

 

[h=2]UK 'second best education in Europe'[/h]Australia not to shabby at 15

 

Pity the UK education didn't work for you. :rolleyes:

[Guest]

"The rankings include higher education as well as international school tests - which boosted the UK's position."

They also include higher-education graduation rates, which helped the UK to a much higher position than in Pisa tests, which saw the UK failing to make the top 20.

 

So basically nothing to do with how it is at the local Comprehensive

[Scrutineer]

This is because it includes HE, which is no longer a realistic goal for normal British kids thank to the tuition fees. The UK has some of the best unis in the world, and this drags it up this league table, irrespective of the fact normal British kids can't go to uni there anymore. Take Oxbridge out and look at a comparison of the schooling system, and Australia is 4 and UK is 31, as I wrote earlier, to which this post is clearly a rebuttal. The fact remains the UK schooling system is a shambles, and even the government openly admits this.

 

"These rankings are based upon an amalgamation of international tests and education data - including the OECD's Pisa tests, and two major US-based studies, Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (Timss) and Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (Pirls). They also include higher-education graduation rates, which helped the UK to a much higher position than in Pisa tests, which saw the UK failing to make the top 20."

 

The 2012 Pisa Ranking put Australia at 19, and the UK at 26th. This league table that Perthbum has linked to is a highly fudged piece of statistical data trying to make the UK's appalling school system look much, much better. What they are basically doing is 1) denying normal kids access to university, 2) running some of the worst secondary schools in the OECD, and 3) putting HE into the stats so they can tell the kids they're in the second best system in Europe. An all-round disgrace as I thin we will all agree.

[Scrutineer]

"The rankings include higher education as well as international school tests - which boosted the UK's position."

They also include higher-education graduation rates, which helped the UK to a much higher position than in Pisa tests, which saw the UK failing to make the top 20.

 

So basically nothing to do with how it is at the local Comprehensive

 

Exactly.

[Ellie 2]

Didn't know there was a UK education system. I knew there was a Scots education system as well as an England and Wales system - the two being separate entities.

[Scrutineer]

Didn't know there was a UK education system. I knew there was a Scots education system as well as an England and Wales system - the two being separate entities.

 

For international rankings Scotland is put in with the rest of the UK because it is not a separate country.

[Ellie 2]

The UK is not a country , it is,supposed to be, a "joint venture" involving 3 countries, Scotland, England and Wales. The legal systems are also separate. The education ranking figures cannot be assumed as accurate as it is almost impossible to combine statistics from two different systems accurately.

[Parley]

The UK is not a country , it is,supposed to be, a "joint venture" involving 3 countries, Scotland, England and Wales. The legal systems are also separate. The education ranking figures cannot be assumed as accurate as it is almost impossible to combine statistics from two different systems accurately.

 

The UK is classed as a country. But it comprises 4 other countries not 3.

You forgot Northern Ireland.

[Scrutineer]

The UK is not a country , it is,supposed to be, a "joint venture" involving 3 countries, Scotland, England and Wales. The legal systems are also separate. The education ranking figures cannot be assumed as accurate as it is almost impossible to combine statistics from two different systems accurately.

 

Let's not be silly - the UK is a state, and it is states that are being measured and ranked in international studies. Clearly the word "country" in this context refers to a nation-state, and Scotland is not a nation-state, therefore it is included in the UK in these rankings. The easy way to work this out is to look in your passport. If you are Scottish, then you are a British citizen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The short-hand for this is the UK.

 

I'm not debating the two systems, merely explaining why Scotland is incorporated into UK figures for the purposes of this international ranking.

[AJ]

So European kids cant spell or count without a calculator either?

[Scrutineer]

So European kids cant spell or count without a calculator either?

 

When I lectured at university in England I can tell you that the European students were usually more literate than the British kids - the only exception were those who were privately educated in the UK. The kids from the average comps were unconfident and unable to put a coherent argument together. I felt so sorry for them - 12 years of FT education and many were only semi-literate.

[AJ]

When I lectured at university in England I can tell you that the European students were usually more literate than the British kids - the only exception were those who were privately educated in the UK. The kids from the average comps were unconfident and unable to put a coherent argument together. I felt so sorry for them - 12 years of FT education and many were only semi-literate.

Exactly so I cannot understand why people rave on about how good the UK Education system is. So many come over to Australia and think their kids are genuises compared to Aussie kids!

[ScotsQuine]

Singapore at number 3? For the local schools this doesn't surprise me. For the majority of the Singaporean kids, they have to live and breathe schoolwork and their extra curriculum activities, it is drummed into them from pre-K!

 

Some of the international schools in Singapore have an entrance exam, which will result in only the high achievers gaining entry. There is also another one of the international schools there that no longer accept children who need extra help in class. And those existing pupils with any special needs are exempt from taking part in exams because it lowers their overall school results.

 

Not all results are as clear as some would like...

[Ellie 2]

The UK is classed as a country. But it comprises 4 other countries not 3.

You forgot Northern Ireland.

 

The UK came into existence in 1603 when James VI of Scotland accepted the throne of England and Wales, NI was not involved in this. Read Scrutineer's post to acquaint yourself with the title that includes Northern Ireland.

[Parley]

Do you really expect anyone to say the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland whenever they refer to the UK.

 

Now you are being silly. No one does that.

[ScotsQuine]

I refer to it as the UK, but I also say that I am Scottish, not British :wink:

[Ellie 2]

Do you really expect anyone to say the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland whenever they refer to the UK.

 

Now you are being silly. No one does that.

 

No, I don't expect that title to be used all the time but neither do I expect to be correct by someone who doesn't have a clue what they are talking about and who calls me silly for pointing out that simply saying UK does not include Northern Ireland.

[milliem]

No, I don't expect that title to be used all the time but neither do I expect to be correct by someone who doesn't have a clue what they are talking about and who calls me silly for pointing out that simply saying UK does not include Northern Ireland.

 

Erm the '3 country joint venture' a very quaint way of putting it.

 

As someone who comes from Northern Ireland, I can state that it is definitely worth more than just a cursory mention when it comes to educational statistics. There are 164 'Grammar' schools in the whole of GB and NI and 69 of these are located in NI. This is fairly significant when you compare the populations of the mainland with NI as these schools are still academically selective.

 

(of course most schools are a misnomer, not actually 'Grammar' schools by definition as Latin Grammar is not taught there)

 

Northern Ireland has a population of 1.8 million compared with a Great Britain mainland population of 64 million. GCSE and GCE results in Northern Ireland continue to be significantly higher than those in Great Britain.

 

As some one who has taught in state schools in both countries there is a significant difference in general Literacy and Numeracy; this was particularly noticeable when I compared the Science 'A' Level student cohorts which I taught.

 

It would be interesting to see what the statistics look like if Northern Ireland was not included in the data.

 

Millie

[Scrutineer]

Erm the '3 country joint venture' a very quaint way of putting it.

 

As someone who comes from Northern Ireland, I can state that it is definitely worth more than just a cursory mention when it comes to educational statistics. There are 164 'Grammar' schools in the whole of GB and NI and 69 of these are located in NI. This is fairly significant when you compare the populations of the mainland with NI as these schools are still academically selective.

 

(of course most schools are a misnomer, not actually 'Grammar' schools by definition as Latin Grammar is not taught there)

 

Northern Ireland has a population of 1.8 million compared with a Great Britain mainland population of 64 million. GCSE and GCE results in Northern Ireland continue to be significantly higher than those in Great Britain.

 

As some one who has taught in state schools in both countries there is a significant difference in general Literacy and Numeracy; this was particularly noticeable when I compared the Science 'A' Level student cohorts which I taught.

 

It would be interesting to see what the statistics look like if Northern Ireland was not included in the data.

 

Millie

 

In 2011/2012 the proportion of full-time 1st degree entrants from socio-economic class 4 to 7 across the UK to HE institutions were:

England: 30.9% (Mainly comprehensive)

Wales: 29.1% (Fully comprehensive)

Scotland: 26.6% (Fully comprehensive)

Northern Ireland: 39.1% (Almost totally selective)

You can see a clear correlation between the more comprehensive the system the lower the number of people getting into university. Considering the UK average is 30.7% you can see the devastating effect of comprehensives, but then they are doing what they are supposed to do - reduce competition for private school kids when trying to get into top unis.