Twenty Years on -- What Can PISA Tell Us about Educational Inequality in France and England?

Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals

Y

15

Equal Education; Cross Cultural Studies; Achievement Gap; Foreign Countries; International Assessment; Achievement Tests; Secondary School Students; Scores; Socioeconomic Background; Academic Achievement; Educational Policy; Accountability; Competition; Comparative Analysis; Comparative Education; Policy Analysis; Ideology; Political Influences; Administrative Organization; Educational Legislation

United Kingdom (England); France

10.1080/03057925.2021.1941773

0305-7925
1469-3623

This article examines French and English average performances and educational inequality in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) between 2000 and 2018. It asks why English average scores in 2018 are much higher than those of France when they were fairly similar in previous PISA assessments. It questions why the impact of socio-economic background on educational performance in England decreased while the reverse has been the case for France. This is all the more damning given the French republican espousal of "égalité." It examines policies in both countries and analyses to what extent PISA has impacted on these. It argues that in England, policies of autonomy, accountability and competition, in line with the OECD and its own tradition of liberalism, have been implemented rigorously. In France, because of left-right oppositional dynamics and the role of embedded republican principles, the status quo has been maintained.

As Provided

2023

EJ1387770