How Does the UK Education System Compare to the Rest of the World
A recent assessment by Bromsgrove School on the subject of the IB versus A levels got me thinking. How do other countries manage their education systems? Various surveys and statistical analyses can shed light on the UK’s education system and its ranking by comparison to other countries.
Literacy is perhaps the most important measure of an education system. Without the ability to read and write, all other education will be difficult, to say the least. The Literacy rate in the UK is estimated to be at 99%, putting the country at the same level as the United States and many European countries. However, the method of estimating literacy rates varies from country to country, so the results cannot be taken as rock solid. In fact, in 2003, 56% of the UK’s adult working population had a literacy level that would not have allowed them to get a good pass at GCSE Level. The OECD put the UK at 14th in their league tables that year. The levels of literacy were up to three times worse than in Scandinavian countries.
The UK is a member of the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) – an organization of countries that are committed to democracy and a market economy. Each year the OECD releases a report on the maths, reading, and science proficiency levels of countries, which this year covered 65 different countries. The news isn’t great for the UK. In 2006, the UK was ranked at 14th, 17th, and 24th in science, reading, and maths, whereas in 2010 it had slipped to 16th, 25th, and 28th. The UK is below the US in reading proficiency, Slovenia in maths, and Germany in science. South Korea and Finland have done the best, with South Korea taking the top spot in reading and maths and coming in 3rd in Science, while Finland topped the science rankings and came 2nd in maths and reading.
As of 2010, the UK is also no longer a world leader in the production of graduates. An OECD study that measures the percentage of people who get a university degree found that the UK has slipped from being in the top 4 ten years ago, when the numbers were nine points above the OECD average to 15th today, at 3 points below the average. Much of this seems to be an inability to improve as opposed to a drop in achievement. The UK percentage dropped only 2 points, from 37% to 35%, but the OECD average increased from 28% to 38%.
However, the UK higher education system is still seen as reputable, with the UK beaten only by the US in the 2010 Times Higher Education ranking of universities by reputation. The UK boasted 12 universities in the top 100, with the US having an impressive 45. Harvard took the top spot, but Oxford and Cambridge were both in the top ten. The UK had a further four universities in the top 50, including Edinburgh University and University College London. There is some concern amongst academics and students that the recent funding cuts and increase in tuition fees will adversely affect both the number of graduates and the rankings of UK universities internationally.