There’s been an eery silence from education policy commentators in the wake of the release of PISA 2022 creative thinking results It begs the question as to why.
They are, after all, some good news within the PISA universe. After falling literacy and numeracy results for the past decade, along with attendant anguish and blame apportioning, the results for creative thinking place Australia as 4th best in the world! And yet many of the commentariat seem stunningly silent.
The other PISA results were routinely dissected by all and sundry, with particular concern that Mathematics had fallen significantly in the rankings: Australia’s mean score is now equal 16th, Reading was 12th, and Science was 10th. Some commentators also noticed that while Australia’s ranking for Reading was now back in the top 10, that was due to poor performance of other nations, not necessarily an improvement by Australian students. The overall decline in mean scores was repeated as the rationale for urgent and widespread reform.
Such concern has partly fed into the rise of debate on phonics and direct instruction, based on the argument there is an incontrovertible decline evident in PISA results, although not everyone is in agreement. The case of Singapore, who tops all PISA 2022 results across the board (like winning the 100m, 200m, 400m, and 800m Olympic finals!) shows that high literacy, numeracy, and science achievements are not counter to high achievement in creative thinking.
Much more analysis of this data is needed to give meaningful insights to how we can continue to foster creative thinking in our students. Using the same logic as the deteriorating literacy/numeracy argument, Australia must be doing something right here – what is it, and how can we get more of it more equitably?
That’s because, like other reported achievements, mean (or average) scores mask a lot of differences. One that was noted in the report was between girls and boys; there is a marked difference in mean scores between these two sub-populations. Again, what’s behind this, and what can we do in response?
These are some hearty questions to ponder as we head into the mid-year break. On behalf of ACEL NSW, I trust you find time to rest, to refresh, to recharge, and to recalibrate yourself for the second half of the year.
It’s also opportunity to plan your trip to the ACEL annual conference in Adelaide; maybe you could tag an extra couple of days after the conference to enjoy all the richness Adelaide and its surrounds offers, too.
Paul Kidson
ACEL NSW Branch President