Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-01-18-Speech-2-570-000"
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"en.20110118.21.2-570-000"2
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"As you are aware, it is for each Member State to decide how to organise its educational system. This is in accordance with Article 165 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. Nevertheless, the Commission works with Member States to foster mutual learning and exchanges of good practice.
Moreover, the thematic working group on maths, science and technology has already been established. It comprises national policy makers and experts on the basis of mutual learning and the exchange of good practices. The thematic working group will identify and disseminate policy measures to improve the situation of low achievers in basic skills at national level.
I should also underline that the Comenius actions of the lifelong learning programme focuses, among other priorities, on increasing motivation in science and mathematics and on improving literacy skills.
As we stated in the Europe 2020 strategy, it is vital for Europe’s future as a knowledge-based and inclusive society that education systems are reformed and modernised to match the best in the world. The OECD’s PISA survey is an important resource for these exchanges. The latest PISA survey, published in December 2010, shows a mixed picture for EU Member States. There are signs of considerable improvement in some systems but, overall, there is much progress still to be made. These results will provide an important input to future exchanges between the Commission and the Member States.
The European benchmark, adopted by the Council in May 2009, aims at an adequate level of basic skills in reading, mathematics and science by calling for the share of low achievers aged 15 to be reduced to below 15% by the year 2020.
Now I would like to read something from the PISA report, which is very relevant. The share of low achieving pupils in reading, which had increased from 21% in 2000 to 24% in 2006, improved to 20% in 2009. Nevertheless, the OECD 2010 benchmark of reducing the 2000 share by 20% to reach 17% was not reached.
The share of low achieving pupils in maths and science has been declining since 2006. There was more progress in science than in maths and the share of low achievers is today lower in science than in maths.
If 2006 is used as a strong starting point, the EU is well on track as regards progress towards the 2020 low achiever benchmark. On average, over the three disciplines in the 25 EU countries for which data is available, 22.5% were low achievers in 2006 and, by 2009, their share had declined to 19.6%. So we see that, on average, in the European Union we have made progress.
The Commission will, of course, analyse the PISA results and publish its conclusions in its next annual progress report on benchmarks in 2011. In November 2010, the Council invited the Commission and Member States to focus their joint work on the following areas: curriculum design, motivation for reading, literacy, maths, science and technology, the impact of new technologies on basic skills and their use in helping learners to acquire autonomy and maintain motivation, gender differences in performance and attitudes, the link between pupils’ background and their mastery of basic skills and, finally, issues around teachers and teacher trainers as well as around schools’ ethos and characteristics.
In its conclusion, the Council also invited the Commission to establish a high-level group on literacy and a thematic working group on maths, science and technology.
I intend to launch the high-level group on literacy on 1 February. It will suggest policy measures based on best practices and research, which will help Member States to improve the consistency and effectiveness of the provision of basic skills within their lifelong learning strategies, and the group will conclude its work and publish its report in mid-2012."@en1
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