Expert group's report on poor PISA test results could be flawed, unions warn

The USTEC educational trade union suspects that the conclusions of the group of experts working on a report about the poor PISA test results will be "pre-determined" and "flawed from the start."

The union criticized that the education department has not made public the commission's selection criteria. 

Catalonia's results in the 2022 PISA tests fell in all three areas of assessment, placing Catalan students below the average for Spain and other countries that form part of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2022 tests assessed the mathematics, science and reading comprehension skills of more than 700,000 15-year-old students in 81 countries around the world. In Catalonia, they took place during the spring of 2022.

Union spokesperson Iolanda Segura said at a press conference on Wednesday that a "broad" open debate, encompassing the entire educational community, could be a better way to find a solution. She also pointed out the Catalan School Council would be the "ideal" place to host such a forum.

The union warns that no policy can be implemented "successfully" if it does not have the support of the educational community, and expressed concern that solutions from the expert group could be seen as politically linked.