Some parents did speak of tutoring as a way of securing entry into a specific school. But they were in the minority. Most spoke of using it to help fix academic problems, temporary and ongoing.
There are many reasons to be skeptical about PISA rankings, and their use to compare student achievement or to identify best practices or solutions for educational problems.
It would be wiser to spend money on policies that allow teachers to teach in ways that nurture children’s sense of belonging and making sure children are not hungry when they are trying to learn.
The role of the school library has evolved. Today’s school library goes beyond providing books. It must include teaching children digital literacy and how to critically evaluate information online.
Children from minority groups rarely see themselves reflected in the books they read. This can negatively impact their sense of identity and their literacy levels.
Girls are encouraged more often to read, despite performing better in reading assessments nationally and internationally. Here’s how parents and educators can help connect boys with books.
Providing text-message tips to parents on how to make their children stronger readers can make a difference, but only if parents don’t get too many or too few text messages, researchers find.
The current debate about comparability would be more concerning if 2018 results showed radically different trends compared to previous years, but they don’t.
Professor, Canada Research Chair in Determinants of Child Development, Owerko Centre at the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary