4 ms·

Calling it a disaster seems like an exaggeration, the article literally says UK's PISA scores for reading have not changed. In fact, the experts cited in the ar

Calling it a disaster seems like an exaggeration, the article literally says UK's PISA scores for reading have not changed. In fact, the experts cited in the article don't even seem to suggest moving away from phonics, but to give teachers more leeway adapt to what their students seem to respond to.

phatskat 1y ago
> give teachers more leeway adapt to what their students seem to respond to. This always feels like one of those “of course, duh” things when the concept of adapting curriculum to students comes up, because it works so well. It’s a bummer that in the US at least, priority for funding that kind of education across public schools is a non-starter. If teachers are buying their own supplies and cramming 20-30 kids in a class, everyone gets the same educational slop and a masters in rote memorization.
- parineum 1y ago
  The Department of Education and standardized testing are to thank for a lot of that. It seems like the idea has gotten more controversial since a certain administration has considered getting rid of it but, since it's inception, it's not like US education has improved.
camgunz 1y ago
Well, it's an old article. Comparable countries Canada and Ireland with more holistic approaches (including phonics) have way better PISA scores. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/656dc3321104cf0013fa742f/PISA_2022_England_National_Report.pdf https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/656dc3321104c...
- scotty79 1y ago
  Isn't Canada multilingual?
  - camgunz 1y ago
    Do you think that makes reading pedagogy harder or easier?
    - scotty79 1y ago
      I think it makes learning to read easier because not 100% of their grade is based on how well they learned to read English, which is a terrible language for reading.
      - camgunz 1y ago
        Grades have nothing to do with PISA scores.
        scotty79 1y ago
        PISA score is a form of grading, is it not? I'm sure it doesn't just compare English proficiency between countries because some countries don't speak English at all and still get PISA score.
        camgunz 1y ago
        > PISA score is a form of grading, is it not? No, it's an independent test. You can completely "fail" the PISA and it'll have no impact on your matriculation. > I'm sure it doesn't just compare English proficiency between countries because some countries don't speak English at all and still get PISA score. Correct. Students take the PISA in their native language. Only the most sparsely populated provinces in Canada did worse [0] than the UK [1] in 2018. [0]: https://www.fraserinstitute.org/sites/default/files/what-international-tests-PISA-tell-us-about-education-in-canada.pdf https://www.fraserinstitute.org/sites/default/files/what-int... [1]: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5f20293fd3bf7f1b0fa79fa3/PISA_2018_England_national_report_accessible.pdf https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5f20293fd3bf7...
        1y ago

phatskat 1y ago

> give teachers more leeway adapt to what their students seem to respond to. This always feels like one of those “of course, duh” things when the concept of adapting curriculum to students comes up, because it works so well. It’s a bummer that in the US at least, priority for funding that kind of education across public schools is a non-starter. If teachers are buying their own supplies and cramming 20-30 kids in a class, everyone gets the same educational slop and a masters in rote memorization.

parineum 1y ago
The Department of Education and standardized testing are to thank for a lot of that. It seems like the idea has gotten more controversial since a certain administration has considered getting rid of it but, since it's inception, it's not like US education has improved.

camgunz 1y ago

Well, it's an old article. Comparable countries Canada and Ireland with more holistic approaches (including phonics) have way better PISA scores. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/656dc3321104cf0013fa742f/PISA_2022_England_National_Report.pdf https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/656dc3321104c...

scotty79 1y ago
Isn't Canada multilingual?
- camgunz 1y ago
  Do you think that makes reading pedagogy harder or easier?
  - scotty79 1y ago
    I think it makes learning to read easier because not 100% of their grade is based on how well they learned to read English, which is a terrible language for reading.
    - camgunz 1y ago
      Grades have nothing to do with PISA scores.
      - scotty79 1y ago
        PISA score is a form of grading, is it not? I'm sure it doesn't just compare English proficiency between countries because some countries don't speak English at all and still get PISA score.
        camgunz 1y ago
        > PISA score is a form of grading, is it not? No, it's an independent test. You can completely "fail" the PISA and it'll have no impact on your matriculation. > I'm sure it doesn't just compare English proficiency between countries because some countries don't speak English at all and still get PISA score. Correct. Students take the PISA in their native language. Only the most sparsely populated provinces in Canada did worse [0] than the UK [1] in 2018. [0]: https://www.fraserinstitute.org/sites/default/files/what-international-tests-PISA-tell-us-about-education-in-canada.pdf https://www.fraserinstitute.org/sites/default/files/what-int... [1]: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5f20293fd3bf7f1b0fa79fa3/PISA_2018_England_national_report_accessible.pdf https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5f20293fd3bf7...
        1y ago