62250 Successful Education Reform: Lessons from Poland Key Messages The importance of a strong education system for a country’s economic growth and success is no longer a Poland’s education reforms have matter of debate in policy circles. Virtually all produced a large overall improvement in governments around the world have been re-examining educational performance, as measured by their education systems in an effort to better position results on the OECD Program for their countries in the changing global marketplace. International Student Assessment (PISA) Poland stands out as a country that has achieved test1. impressive changes in a short time. Before 1999, primary school in Poland was This Knowledge Brief describes the educational reforms 8 years, followed by tracking into that Poland undertook and presents an analysis of the vocational or academic programs. Now, results, based on information garnered from Poland’s the primary cycle has been changed to 6 performance on the Program for International Student years, followed by 3 years of Assessment (PISA), a standardized international test. comprehensive lower secondary school or Analysis of the PISA results helps pinpoint those aspects gymnasium for all students, before a of Poland’s reform that were most effective in helping vocational tracking decision is made. raise student achievement. Poland now ranks 9th among all countries The Polish Education Reform of 1999 in overall reading scores on PISA, the only transition country to go from being below Poland began its ongoing educational reforms in 1999. the OECD average on PISA to above The goal of Poland’s education reforms was to improve average. the overall level of education in society, increase educational opportunities for citizens, and improve quality and equity of the education system. Increased hours of instruction and delayed tracking of students into the vocational Until 1999, the configuration of the basic education education stream were the most important system in Poland relied on a traditional dual structure factors in the improvement of test scores. involving: In 2000, only 1% of Polish students A comprehensive primary school cycle lasting 8 received more than four hours of language years. class, while in 2006, 76% of students received more than four hours of language A secondary school cycle with two tracks: a class. general track (called lyceum) which lasted 4 years, or a vocational track that could last either 3 years (basic vocational school) or 5 years (secondary vocational school, also called Introduction technikum). In other words, basic education for children meant anywhere from 11 to 13 years of schooling (depending 1 The PISA (Programme for International Assessment) test is a standardized international test on track choice and duration), and that the direction and coordinated by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). ECA Knowledge Brief duration of their education had to be decided at the end of primary school at around the age of 14. Figure 1: PISA and the Polish Reform Cohorts XII XI X IX PISA PISA PISA VIII VII VI V IV III II I School 97/98 98/99 99/00 00/01 01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 year The age group covered by PISA 2000 Old 8-grade primary school The age group covered by PISA 2003 Old secondary schools incl. VET The age group covered by PISA 2006 New 6-grade primary school Final exams in primary and gymnasium New lower secondary school New matura New upper secondary school Note: VET refers to vocational technical education Source: World Bank analysis of Poland PISA performance A two-track upper secondary school cycle that could last either 3 or 4 years, depending on the Among other changes2, the 1999 reform altered this choice of stream. prevailing configuration in two ways: It delayed the choice of following a vocational track The second effect was achieved by: by one extra year (when students reach the age of 15). Creating a second type of general education schools It expanded and made more homogeneous the (profiled as ‘general secondary schools’). supply of schools within streams. Reducing by 1 year the duration of the technikum3. The first step was reached by turning basic education into a One of the key goals of the new configuration was to raise three-pronged system: the quality and relevance of secondary education. In particular, by delaying the vocational stream choice by 1 A comprehensive primary school cycle of 6 years year and shortening the maximum duration of this track by A comprehensive lower secondary school cycle of 3 another year, Poland revamped its secondary education years. system to make it more suitable for the new competencies 3 A simplified diagram of the configuration can be seen in M. Jakubowski, H.A. Patrinos, E. 2 A description of some of these changes, particularly with respect to the financing of the Porta, and J. Wiśniewski (2010), “The Impact of the 1999 Education Reform in Poland”, . system, is offered in Jakubowski, M. & Topińska (2006), “Impact of Decentralization on World Bank Policy Research Working Paper Series 5263. For the complete official scheme Public Service Delivery and Equity - Education and Health Sectors in Poland: 1998-2003”, submitted by Polish authorities to the Bureau for Academic Recognition and International Center for Social and Economic Research, Department of Economics, Warsaw University. Exchange, see http://www.buwiwm.edu.pl/educ/schemat.htm. ECA Knowledge Brief needed for a knowledge economy (as a well-known World new structure (the flagship of the reform). Finally, the group Bank report has extensively documented)4. covered by PISA 2006 had attended the reformed schools. In addition to the structural changes, Poland also Results implemented changes in school curricula. After years of complaints of overly broad and prescriptive curricula and Overall, Poland registered substantial gains in PISA scores disputes about possible ways forward, the decision was over time, rising from 470 points in 2000, to 490 in 2003, made to implement a concept of core curricula. The concept and again to 495 in 2006. As shown in Figure 2, Poland’s aimed to provide schools with extensive scope for reading score improved in a similar manner - from 479 in autonomy and responsibility; schools were asked to build 2000, to 490 in 2003, to 508 in 2006. Poland’s reading their own curricula, within a pre-determined general score was below the OECD average in 2000, at the OECD framework, while balancing three dimensions of education: average in 2003, and above the OECD average in 2006, acquiring knowledge, developing skills, and shaping ranking 9th among all countries in the world. attitudes. The reform of the curricula was designed not only to bring about change in the content of school The improvement in Poland’s PISA scores was also greater education but, more significantly, change the teaching and more consistent than that of other peer countries. Of the philosophy and improve the professional culture of schools. five transitional countries in Eastern Europe, only Poland was able to improve its reading score consistently between the 2000 and 2006 time period. The Czech Republic, Analysis of Results through PISA Hungary and Russia all had flat to slightly lower reading Concurrent with introducing its package of educational scores over time, while Latvia was able to improve its score reforms, Poland decided to participate in the upcoming from 2000 to 2003 but had a significant decline in 2006. 2000 PISA test. PISA can be used as a tool to assess the overall quality of education, since it is a standardized test With regard to the factors responsible for the improvement, that can be compared over time and against other countries. the delayed tracking into vocational streams appears to be It is a test given to students that measures their proficiency the most critical factor. On the whole, the improvement in in reading, math and science. Poland has now participated PISA scores for 15-year-olds in Poland was 16 to 18 points in three rounds of PISA - in 2000, 2003 and 2006. from 2000 to 2003, and about 35 points from 2000 to 2006. Analysis of the data showed that the score improvement for Methodology the sub-group of 15-year-olds that would have been placed in vocational programs before the reform was particularly In order to assess the results of the educational reforms, high. Their scores improved over 100 points from 2000 to Polish students’ PISA scores were tracked over time and 2003, and over 120 points from 2003 to 2006. This was also compared to other peer countries. Sub-groups of equal to an improvement of over one standard deviation. students were also identified (such as those attending vocational schools) and their scores were also analyzed. The Poland’s overall improvement in reading was also sample consisted of three cohorts of 9th grade (age 15) associated with a greater number of hours spent on language students from all across Poland who took the PISA tests in instruction for all students. In 2000, only 1% of Polish 2000, 2003 and 2006. The students were representative of students received more than four hours of language class, the entire cross-section of students, including those that while in 2006, 76% of students received more than four would be placed in academic schools and those that would hours of language class. The increase in hours of instruction join vocational schools. It is important to note, however, was modeled to explain 48.8% of the total test score that the age cohorts covered by PISA in 2000, 2003 and improvement. This was much more important than the most 2006 were affected by the introduction of the educational important personal characteristic, having a computer at reforms in different ways (see Figure 1). The first group of home, which explained 17.1% of the total test score 9th grade students who took the PISA test in 2000 was not improvement. affected by the reforms. The group that was 15 years of age in 2003 and was covered by the second cycle of PISA started their education in primary school in the former system but attended the gymnasium, which was part of the 4 World Bank (2005). “Expanding Opportunities and Building Competencies for Young People - A New Agenda for Secondary Education”, Directions in Development Series, World Bank, Washington, D.C. Figure 2: PISA Results in Reading - Top Ten Countries’ Performance over Time 515 510 505 500 OECD 495 average PISA Mean Score 490 485 480 475 470 465 460 2000 2003 2006 Table 1: Top 10 Reading over Time, PISA 2000 2003 2006 1 Finland 549 Finland 543 Korea 556 2 Netherlands 537 Korea 534 Finland 547 3 Canada 535 Canada 528 Hong Kong 536 4 Hong Kong 532 Australia 525 Canada 527 5 Australia 528 Liechtenstein 525 New Zealand 521 6 Ireland 528 New Zealand 522 Ireland 517 7 New Zealand 526 Ireland 515 Australia 513 8 Japan 525 Sweden 514 Liechtenstein 510 9 United Kingdom 524 Netherlands 513 Poland 508 10 Korea 522 Hong Kong 510 Sweden 507 Source: OECD PISA results for 2000, 2003, and 2006 Conclusion The changes introduced through Poland’s educational reforms in 1999 boosted the academic performance of the country’s students on the standardized PISA test. The restructuring of the basic cycle of education and About the Authors postponement of students joining the vocational stream by 1 This Knowledge Brief was prepared by Sara Bin Mahfooz year played a central role in students’ test scores and Kate Hovde (consultants) under the guidance of Alberto improvement. Another significant factor contributing to Rodriguez, Acting Sector Manager for the Education improved performance was the increased hours spent on Sector, Europe and Central Asia Region of the World Bank. language instruction for all students. “ECA Knowledge Brief” is a regular series of notes highlighting recent analyses, good practices and lessons learned from the development work program of the World Bank’s Europe and Central Asia Region http://www.worldbank.org/eca