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The OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) examines what students know in mathematics, reading and science, and what they can do with what they know. It provides the most comprehensive and rigorous international assessment of student learning outcomes to date. Results from PISA indicate the quality and equity of learning outcomes attained around the world, and allow educators and policy makers to learn from the policies and practices applied in other countries. This is one of five volumes that present the results of the eighth round of assessment, PISA 2022 – which was conducted during the COVID-19 global pandemic. Volume II, Learning During – and From – Disruption, focuses on resilience in education and analyses its relevance for education systems, schools and students. The volume covers: learning during and from school closures; life at school and support from home; students’ pathways through school; investments in education; and school governance. Trends in these indicators are examined when comparable data are available.

In the context of the green transition, universities have much to offer in joint green innovation projects with business, government and citizens. As hubs of diverse expertise, universities are uniquely placed to build interdisciplinary teams and bridge gaps between society and industry. Their regional ties also enable them to engage with the local ecosystem. This paper draws from ten international case studies of university partnerships with industry and society in green mobility, green energy and green products, services and processes. The comparative evidence gathered from interviews with representatives from these initiatives examines universities’ practices for green co-creation. Additionally, the paper outlines policy recommendations crucial to supporting these initiatives, essential for the global success of sustainable development efforts.

This report assesses how the United States Commonwealth of Virginia is preparing young people for their working lives through career development. It builds on OECD longitudinal analyses which identify forms of career development that can be most confidently associated with better employment outcomes for young people. Collecting data from current secondary school students and young adults in the labour market, the report provides an oversight of career development in Virginia. It then explores the extent to which students are being effectively, efficiently and equitably prepared for their working lives through career guidance programmes. Career readiness is a policy of high importance and the report identifies many strengths within the Virginia system. In order to enhance provision however, there is need to update career readiness standards, frameworks and instruments, and to engage employers and people in work more systematically within guidance activities. Opportunity exists to better amplify labour market signalling, particularly with regard to the skilled trades. The report highlights international practice that can be expected to reduce inequalities in provision, linked especially to the socio-economic backgrounds of students and their geographic location. Here, scope exists notably to draw on digital technologies to enhance provision.

This policy perspective was developed at the request of the Directorate for Education Reform, Scotland (United Kingdom) to provide an overview of how countries across the OECD assess social and emotional skills in upper secondary education. It is accompanied by, and draws on material from, a Peer Learning Discussion on the same topic in March 2023 in Scotland. It aims to provide an overview of literature and country approaches in an area where there is presently limited comparative information on national and system-wide approaches. The policy perspective addresses two key questions about country practices in assessing social and emotional skills (variously known among OECD countries as social and emotional skills, non-cognitive capacities, 21st-century skills, transversal competencies, and complex competencies): a) how do countries collect information on social and emotional on a systemic level; i.e. outside formal upper secondary certification, and b) how do countries assess social and emotional skills for the purposes of upper secondary certification? To answer these questions, the policy perspective provides an inventory and synthesis from 12 countries of approaches, models, and strategies used at the national level to document, assess, and recognise similarly challenging skills, and detailed cases of the model and strategy for assessment of social and emotional skills in Canada (British Columbia), Finland, and New Zealand.

An effective transition into upper secondary education supports learners to identify how their talents and strengths can be supported by different learning pathways. By contrast, weak transitions can lead to learners entering programmes that do not promote their aspirations or deepen their interests, putting their engagement and motivation at risk. At a systemic level, when transition systems do not function effectively, they can amplify inequities, and jeopardise the formation of an appropriate skills mix for an economy. This Education Spotlight explores how countries manage transitions into upper secondary education and proposes policy pointers to guide transitions that support each learner to identify and pursue pathways that reflect and harness their personal talents and interests. It is based on the key findings from the OECD Education working paper Managing student transitions into upper secondary pathways.

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) policies can have a major role in levelling the playing field in education and society by providing all children, and especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, with opportunities to participate in high-quality early learning and development experiences. Countries face different challenges in promoting equity and inclusion in ECEC depending on the particular aspects of social, economic and cultural diversity that are salient in their contexts. Examining the prevalence of different dimensions of diversity in ECEC centres and their associations with indicators of quality, this policy brief points to directions that policymakers can take to ensure that ECEC systems address the needs of children from all backgrounds.

In 2024, education and training systems have a ‘unique potential’ to build the foundations of equitable, sustainable societies. In the OECD National Survey for Comparative Policy Analysis 2023: Empowering Learners to go Green, 90% of participating systems identified environmental sustainability as a key priority for 2024. There is no trade-off between addressing the biggest challenge facing people and the planet and responding to other external shocks and long-term evolutions, especially since these will only become increasingly interdependent. This implies empowering lifelong learners, institutions and education systems with the agency required to act, today. Building on the OECD’s Framework of Responsiveness and Resilience in Education Policy, survey responses from 36 education systems and international policy analysis, this report explores how education systems can: 1) translate learners’ awareness into environmental action; 2) provide learners with experiences to shape the green economy; and 3) position education as a strategic sector for the green transition. By exploring these areas, the report aims to support countries to follow up on the goals established by the 2022 OECD Declaration on Building Equitable Societies Through Education. The report is part of the Education Policy Outlook series—the OECD’s analytical observatory of education policy.

The provision of high-quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) is widely seen as a strategy to promote a more equitable and inclusive society due to its potential to give all children, and especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, a strong basis for early development and well-being. This requires approaches that address the needs of the increasingly diverse populations of children participating in ECEC. A first step in this direction is to assess the prevalence of different dimensions of diversity (e.g., socio-economic disadvantage, special education needs, different first language, and refugee status) across ECEC centres, and the extent to which the quality of ECEC varies between more and less diverse centres. This working paper uses data from the TALIS Starting Strong 2018 survey to examine these questions in the nine participating countries, and to derive policy pointers to ensure that ECEC systems promote equity and inclusion in response to the diversity of children’s needs.

Upper secondary education in Lithuania stands out internationally with one of the highest attainment rates across OECD countries. Yet the country and its young people receive relatively modest returns in terms of learning outcomes for the country's high rates of upper secondary completion. To address this issue, Lithuania is currently undertaking a series of reforms at the upper secondary education level. This report explores how Lithuania, and its young people can achieve higher returns on its investment in upper secondary education and provides Lithuania with policy recommendations to help improve it by strengthening vocational education pathways and by consolidating upper secondary certification.