Literacy news
The UK's education system is ranked sixth best in the developed world
27 Nov 2012
Education firm Pearson has published a global league table which combines international test results and data such as graduation rates between 2006 and 2010.
International comparisons in education have become increasingly significant - and this latest league table is based upon a series of global test results combined with measures of education systems, such as how many people go on to university.
This composite picture puts the UK in a stronger position than the influential PISA tests from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) - which is also one of the tests included in this ranking.
The weightings for the rankings have been produced for Pearson by the Economist Intelligence Unit.
EDUCATION TOP 20
- Finland
- South Korea
- Hong Kong
- Japan
- Singapore
- UK
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Switzerland
- Canada
- Ireland
- Denmark
- Australia
- Poland
- Germany
- Belgium
- USA
- Hungary
- Slovakia
- Russia
The UK - which is considered as a single system, rather than four devolved administrations - is then ranked at the head of an above-average group including the Netherlands, New Zealand, Canada and Ireland.
These comparisons draw upon tests that are taken every three or four years, in areas such as maths, science and literacy - and so present a picture lagging by several years.
