I have written before about the poor quality of both the Welsh education system and its leadership, and about the potential for corruption when a minister of education moonlights as the school exams regulator. See for example, this (UK PISA scores), this (GCSE grade manipulation), and this (PISA & ESDGC).
As such, the poverty of thinking about school education in Wales never really surprises me, but I confess to being just a little bewildered this week at the latest idiocy – inevitably, of course, about PISA, the dismal (and diminishing) performance of Welsh children in these international tests, and what to do about it.
The latest hapless education minister, Huw Lewis, suggests that success in the PISA tests is vital if Wales is to have a successful economy, and that what Welsh children need to do is practise sitting the tests, in the hope, presumably, that they will raise their game and get better at it. Blaming children for the failings of schools and government is a new low, even for a Welsh education minister.
What youngsters in Wales really need is better teaching. If that materialises, then higher PISA scores might follow (and much else). Better leadership would help as well, but there is no sign of that.
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