Romania

Romania’s education system is at a turning point. In 2023, the government passed a new law on school education that sets out significant changes to how schooling is provided, governed and resourced. These changes come at a critical time for the country’s development. While Romania is one of Europe’s fastest-growing economies, its education outcomes remain among the lowest in the European Union. The measures in the new law are crucial for ensuring quality education, fostering economic growth and enhancing inclusivity. This policy perspective offers recommendations on how to take forward planned reforms. It focuses on four specific sets of policies that will be instrumental in improving school quality and equity: school evaluation and support; resources for education; the teaching profession; and the data and monitoring system. At the centre of these are proposals to make teaching a highly skilled and rewarding profession by better connecting performance, promotion and pay, and progressively strengthening schools’ pedagogical leadership through developmental school evaluations and support. At a strategic level, Romania will need a step change in how education policies are funded and evaluated. This implies more strategic planning and budgeting to align resources with long-term policy priorities, and much-expanded analytical capacities to monitor and evaluate implementation and outcomes and hold institutions accountable.

Countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia have clear aspirations to strengthen civic participation and increase prosperity for all. A highly skilled and knowledgeable population is critical to achieving these goals, which makes creating and maintaining high quality and equitable education systems a vital part of regional development efforts. Results from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) show that learning outcomes in the region have generally improved, but that the improvement has not been equitable. While countries in the region are producing some of the top performing students in the world, many other students are being left behind. This report, jointly developed by OECD and UNICEF, analyses PISA data in detail to identify the strengths, challenges and unique features of education systems in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Drawing upon a rich knowledge base of education policy and practice in the region, it makes recommendations about how systems in the region can provide an excellent education for all students. This report will be of interest to regional policy-makers as well as individuals who wish to learn more about education in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Romania’s education system has made impressive strides over the past two decades, with an increasing share of students mastering the basic competencies that they need for life and work. But these average improvements mask significant disparities in learning outcomes and attainment, with an increasing share of students leaving education early without basic skills. This review, developed in cooperation with UNICEF, provides Romania with recommendations to help strengthen its evaluation and assessment system, by reducing the weight of high stake examinations and creating more space for the formative discussions and feedback that are integral to improving learning and teaching. It will be of interest to Romania, as well as other countries looking to make more effective use of their evaluation and assessment system to improve quality and equity, and result in better outcomes for all students.