Students from some twenty CICAE schools outperform in PISA, the most important educational tests in the world, the countries with the best results in the OECD and are well above the Spanish average.

CICAE wanted to share the results obtained in the last PISA test for schools. In a pleasant meeting with several media, the CICAE group report has been presented by Gabriel Castellano, President of CICAE, Elena Cid, General Director of CICAE and Ángel de la Vega, member of the Board of Directors of CICAE and director of Arturo Soria school. The presentation of the report has also counted with the intervention of Elena de la Guía, responsible for the PISA for Schools project in Spain, company 2E Estudios y Evaluaciones, the only company accredited by the OECD to carry out this test.

CICAE schools evaluated have an average of two years of competitive advantage over other 15-year-old students worldwide.

After the results obtained by Spain last December in the most important educational tests in the world (PISA) -the worst since the test has been carried out- and that, after the pandemic, 85% of the countries participating in PISA lowered their performance compared to the previous edition (2018), 18 schools belonging to CICAE -an association that includes most of the best private schools in Spain- have participated in the PISA evaluation for Educational Centers obtaining results well above those achieved by students from the whole of Spain and OECD member countries.

First post-pandemic evaluation of students

This is the first post-pandemic assessment and far from the results reflecting a lack of knowledge and skills, the report released today reveals that these CICAE schools maintain superior results and manage to cushion the impact of the pandemic. The competitive advantage of their students translates into an average of two years of schooling over other 15-year-old students worldwide (2.56 in mathematics, 2.2 in reading and 1.65 in science).

The schools associated with CICAE have obtained an average score much higher than other private schools in Spain, as well as in Spain and the OECD as a whole.

The report presents the reading, mathematics and science achievement results of the schools that participated in the test, along with learning context information gathered from student and school staff responses.

Students from CICAE schools outperform students from OECD countries such as Ireland, Japan and Korea in reading. In mathematics , they are at the level of Korea, a country that ranks second in the world ranking, and in science, CICAE schools participating in these tests are also among the first positions, only behind the great educational powers (Japan and Korea) and Estonia.

PISA FOR SCHOOLS 2023 RESULTS – COMPARISON OF A GROUP OF 18 CICAE SCHOOLS WITH OECD COUNTRIES AND SPAIN AS A WHOLE

The schools participating in the tests consolidate the excellence of the score they already obtained in the previous edition of PISA for Schools in 2018. While the countries with the best results in the OECD in recent years, such as Finland, Canada, Korea or Germany, obtain lower scores than those achieved by CICAE. Also, the participating schools achieve significantly higher scores than those of countries of the closest international environment such as the United Kingdom or France.

The superiority of the results, both in the national and international context, higher than expected, has taken into account the ISEC (socioeconomic and cultural index) corrections applied by the OECD to compare the scores of students with different socioeconomic situations. “CICAE has always been interested in international comparisons as we live in a globalized world and we are aware that students in our schools will have to compete on a global level. Analyzing these results allows us to be able to improve and prepare students for success in their future professional lives,” explained Gabriel Castellano, president of CICAE during the presentation of the report.

In addition, the president of CICAE pointed out with regard to the gender differences in the learning of the students evaluated: “the report infers a higher level of equity between boys and girls in these eighteen schools compared to other countries, where gender differences are observed almost systematically”.

Good practices

“The report sheds a ray of light on good practices. We have more teaching hours in core areas,” added Elena Cid, referring to the possible contribution that this study can make to the Spanish education system as a whole.

The president of CICAE, Gabriel Castellano, also stressed the need for schools to also be evaluated with PISA criteria “to know what is happening in their centers” with an “objective and external” test. “PISA asks students what they think and what they feel, and these are not such easy questions for us to know,” he added, in a context in which global scores have dropped after the pandemic.

“These international comparisons provide a very good framework for analysis to improve teaching practices,” said Ángel de la Vega. “Being able to access a competency test and compare ourselves with schools around the world is very useful,” he added.

Specifically, this test measured “intangibles such as climate and learning environment, the relationship with students, which are fundamental when measuring academic success.” “There are areas where we can improve. We do this to have a snapshot of an indicated moment and establish points for improvement,” he continued. He also stated that there are practices that can be taken as a reference as successful experiences in CICAE schools, such as “more teaching hours” in the main subjects, “reading and writing plans”, “competency plans such as public speaking”, “mathematics has a constructivist structure in CICA schools”, since they work in a manipulative way, based on understanding” and in science laboratories are used “a lot”.

Schools from Andalusia, Aragon, Catalonia, the Community of Madrid, the Community of Valencia and Galicia have participated.

In the CICAE Group Report, schools have participated from: Andalucía (El Centro Inglés de Cádiz, C.D.P. Patrocinio San José de Málaga y Yago School de Sevilla; de Aragón (el colegio Británico); en Cataluña (St. From the Community of Madrid (Mirabal International Schools, Arturo Soria, Alameda de Osuna, Arcángel Rafael, Colegio Europeo, Mirasur, San Patricio, SEK Ciudalcampo, Virgen de Europa, Los Sauces La Moraleja and SEK Castillo); from the Community of Valencia (Mas Camarena de Valencia) and from Galicia (Manuel Peleteiro located in Santiago de Compostela).

The PISA Test for Schools

The PISA for Schools test is an evaluation of school performance, based on the PISA international student assessment program that the OECD conducts every three years for 15-year-old students in 70 countries. It is a tool for educational improvement that measures how students apply the knowledge they have acquired to problems close to those they may encounter in life.

The scores show the results in four areas:

• What students in the center group know and are able to do in reading, mathematics and science: these tests establish six proficiency levels for each of the areas.
• The learning environment in the group of centers from an international perspective.
• The results of the group of centers in the international context.
• Excellence and equity in the group of centers.

Download the full group report at the following link:

https://www.cicae.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/2023-Informe-Grupo-PfS_CICAE.pdf

About CICAE

CICAE is an association of independent private schools of national scope and international projection, whose essential purpose is the promotion and defense of free and independent education in Spain. The foundation of CICAE is based on the concern of a group of private education professionals about the situation of education in Spain in general and their area of action in particular. It currently groups 60 schools, which represent the majority of the best private schools in Spain, educating more than 60,000 students. It is a space of educational institutions of long trajectory and prestige, united by the interest of promoting common growth, innovation in teaching, effective management and facing the challenges of today’s society.