Since 2000, the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) has been measuring the skills and knowledge of 15-year-old students in over 70 countries.

Technology has indeed entered the classroom; but it has not yet changed the ways we teach and learn to the same extent that it has transformed our way of communicating in the outside world.

Who wants to be a teacher? As this month’s PISA in Focus shows, in many countries the teaching profession is having a hard time making itself an attractive career choice – particularly among boys and among the highest-performing students.

How school systems respond to immigration has an enormous impact on the economic and social well-being of all members of the communities they serve, whether they have an immigrant background or not.

The OECD's work on Trends Shaping Education looks at major social, demographic, economic and technological trends affecting the future of education. The newest edition of the publication will be released on 18 January.

One of the most remarkable consequences of the expansion of education in OECD countries over the past decades is the reversal of the gender gap in education. From outright exclusion and discrimination in educational institutions less than a century ago, girls and young women have conquered schools and colleges.

Most 15-year-olds in OECD countries spend at least some time each day wandering through cyberspace as part of their media diet.

What is the nature of modern childhood? Released today, the book Trends Shaping Education 2016 looks at major social, demographic, economic and technological trends affecting the future of education

Whoever has a hammer sees every problem as a nail. Those in the security business tend to see the answer to radicalism and terrorism in military might, and those in the financial business in cutting flows of money.

Qualifications are useful because they make skills visible. It is confidently assumed that the holder of a school-leaving certificate can read and understand instructions, and make calculations, and that those with university degrees can do much more.

Archived Webinar - Friday, 12 February 2016, 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. (ET) - The Alliance for Excellent Education and the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future (NCTAF) joined forces with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to host a joint U.S. release of the OECD’s new report Supporting Teacher Professionalism.

Most countries have made little progress helping their weakest students improve their performance in reading, mathematics and science over the past decade. This means too many young people are still leaving school without the basic skills needed in today’s society and workplace, hurting their futures and long-term economic growth, according to a new OECD report.

School leaders are calling the PISA-based Test for Schools one of the better indicators out there of how well students are prepared for 21st century learning.

A new PISA report, Low-Performing Students: Why They Fall Behind and How to Help Them Succeed, offers an in-depth analysis of low performance at school and recommends ways to tackle the problem.

Teacher professionalism is about a teacher’s knowledge, their autonomy and their membership of peer networks. These are the key elements that lead to more effective teaching.

Primary school is a fundamental stage in children’s education. Yet it is often neglected in education research and policy debates, somehow squeezed between the seemingly more important stages of early childhood education and secondary education.

Children and young people are among the biggest losers in the European economic and debt crisis.

A generation ago, teachers could expect that what they taught would equip their students with the skills needed for the rest of their lives.

Today, around 5 million students study and do research in a country other than their own, attracted by the quality of overseas universities and willing to complement their education portfolio with international experience.

Students who avoid making an effort to understand mathematics concepts may succeed in some school environments; but a lack of deep, critical and creative thinking may seriously penalise these students later in life when confronted with real, complex problems.

Equality of opportunity is a lofty ideal, but some societies get closer to achieving it than others.

Ensuring that all people have solid foundation skills has become one of the central aims of the post-2015 development agenda.

Over the past 15 years, Colombia’s education system has undergone an extraordinary transformation.

If one were to ask ministers of education what they consider to be the most important factor determining the quality of their education systems, the odds are high that they would refer to the quality of the teaching work force.

Increased life expectancy represents one of the great achievements of modern societies: living longer and better has been a dream of past generations. At the same time, it implies changes to many aspects of life.

OECD countries differ significantly in the way spending on tertiary education is shared between public and private sources of funding, and in the financial support they provide to students.

There are few issues in education that raise as much political and ideological controversy as tuition fees for higher education.

The benefits of employers engaging with education has long been reported and promoted within policy circles.

In the 2012 PISA test, urban students in Latvia outperformed rural students by the equivalent of more than a year of schooling – half a year more than the average performance difference between these two groups of students across OECD countries.

At the beginning of work-based learning programmes employers make an investment. This pays off later on when, after receiving high quality training, skilled trainees achieve higher productivity and contribute to production.

How are policy makers in the United States using data to help districts maximise their impact? And, what tools do districts need to work together in order to build stronger communities?

The Dutch school system is one of the best in the OECD, but raising standards will require further reforms to improve early childhood education, motivate students to excel and develop a career structure that attracts more high performers to the teaching profession, according to a new OECD report.

Across OECD countries, 32% of low-performing students reported that they give up easily when confronted with a difficult mathematics problem compared to only 13% of top performers.

Common sense and hard evidence point to the significant impact of socio-emotional skills such as perseverance and responsibility on children's lifetime success.

More than hundred years ago, nations that are now members of the OECD introduced legislation to set the age compulsory education.

Many students who participated in PISA 2012 reported that they have hardly been exposed to fundamental concepts in mathematics, like arithmetic means or linear equations, which form the basis of the numeracy skills that they will need to thrive as adults.

Employer engagement in education and training has become a hot topic for policy makers and practitioners around the world.

It’s the time of year when young people in the northern hemisphere are finishing their formal studies for the year – or for the foreseeable future.

Schools nowadays are required to learn faster than ever before in order to deal effectively with the growing pressures of a rapidly changing environment.

The international statistical system, one of the great achievements of international organisations, has mirrored the evolution of the nation-state.

The digital divide has shifted.

When we think of technology and education, we usually think of information and communication technologies (ICTs).

Vocational education and training can mean very different things to different people.

At the turn of this century, two different models of higher education programmes prevailed in the world.

PISA 2012 finds that, on average across OECD countries, about 70% of students attend schools where teachers believe that it is best to adapt academic standards to students’ capacities and needs.

Today’s education systems need to adapt practices to local diversity while ensuring common goals.

The role of the school leader is essential for pupil and staff success, and although good practice exists, there is still room for improvement.

Students unable to navigate through our complex digital landscape are simply no longer able to participate in our social, economic and cultural life.

Exposure to high quality teacher professional development varies greatly both between and within countries, which broadens the scope of work for policy makers.

On 6 December, the latest results from the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment, better known as PISA, will be made public.