Schleicher, Andreas

He attacks Germany's three-tier school system, condemns early selection and is a champion of the Gesamtschule, or comprehensive school. He also had teachers tested on their knowledge and lesson design, which resulted in complaints that he had not only raised important questions, but had also brought unrest and uncertainty into the classroom.

Andreas Schleicher (42) could arguably be described as Germany's "Mr Pisa". As head of the Indicators and Analysis Division at the OECD in Paris, he directed the much-publicized Pisa studies in which the performance of German pupils received a dismal assessment.

Schleicher's path to education expert

Born in Hamburg in 1964, Schleicher originally graduated in physics, and subsequently studied mathematics at Deakin University in Australia. The young physics student, attending lectures in the humanities at the University of Hamburg, met Thomas Neville Postlethwaite, an educational scientist from Britain, whose approach to educational research was music to the ears of Schleicher, used as he was to the formal precision of his subject. In 1988, Postlethwaite invited him to work with him on the first international study into reading and writing. He also arranged for Schleicher to do a second degree in mathematics so that he would acquire a thorough grounding in statistics.

Later, Schleicher was also involved in the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). At the time, he came to the attention of the OECD in Paris, which invited him in 1994 to join its central office and whip their educational statistics department into shape. Today he lives in Paris, where he devotes his time to international comparisons of education systems and to studying the economic effects of education policy.

More money is not enough

"We attempt to educate 21st century pupils using teachers who were trained in the 20th century and who work in a school system which essentially originates from the 19th century and is no longer up-to-date. This is no longer compatible with the modern labour market." That is the sort of statement with which Andreas Schleicher regularly drives the Conference of German Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs, not to mention teachers themselves, crazy. At the same time, he himself admits that there has definitely been some progress made since the publication of the first Pisa study in 2002. In introducing clear educational targets, more efficient work methods and binding standards, he believes schools are on the right track.

However, investments in German educational institutions, measured as a percentage of gross domestic product, still lag behind the OECD average. For instance, universities in Germany have seen a 14 percent rise in expenditure on education, as compared to an average increase of 46 percent in OECD countries. It is not, however, merely a question of a lack of funds. Schleicher calls for Germany to be provided with a "more diverse, high quality spectrum of educational institutions which are able to react more flexibly to dynamic changes in demand and which are responsible for their own outcomes".

What can German teachers learn from others?

Does it really not bother him that Finnish teachers have on average far fewer children in their classes, that huge pressure is placed on Japanese pupils to perform, and that, of all things, a highly-tiered school system such as that in Bavaria or Baden-Württemberg produces the best results according to the Pisa study? Schleicher praises the "correct combination of highly qualified teaching staff, scope for individual learning and innovative equipment" in other countries and, undaunted, calls for German schools to learn from their counterparts in Canada, Japan, England, Finland, Australia and Sweden.

Now, it is one thing to close one's eyes to the successes of others and simply claim that they would not be transferable to Germany, but quite another thing to ask what a teacher from Neukölln [a district of Berlin with a high immigrant population] is supposed to learn from the Finnish school system if he is in charge of a class of 28 pupils of which only two have German parents. Or – to give a less drastic example – what more can be expected of a comprehensive school teacher who already has to cope with six performance tests, five lesson inspections plus weekly staff and subject meetings on top of her normal teaching workload every half school year?

Taking responsibility

Can even more performance comparisons, measurements and tests really help? During our discussion, the OECD expert himself pinpointed the crux of the matter: schools need to take more responsibility. "The question is how to ensure that every pupil in a school receives the individual encouragement he or she needs. In the past, school was a place where a teacher taught all pupils the same thing at the same pace. The model for the future is for teachers to diagnose the individual strengths and weaknesses of their pupils so as to be able to give them individual encouragement and challenges." That is only possible, however, if schools are able to work more autonomously, are given more resources and scope, and if teachers have more time to devote to their students.

Incidentally, Andreas Schleicher's three children go to French schools. France, he explains, has a "very rigid education system", geared to formal teaching by subject. "I don't think it's ideal, but as parents you just have to accept it."