Editorial – Pisa and the uncomfortable questions

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Last week, the results of a Pisa study were once again presented in Luxembourg. As expected, they caused quite a stir.

And rightly so. Maths and reading skills have deteriorated. Pisa also confirms what education researchers in this country regularly observe: socio-economic background continues to be a decisive factor in educational attainment. In science subjects, too – unlike the average for OECD countries – Luxembourg has failed to narrow this gap.

For Minister of Education Claude Meisch, the Pisa results are uncomfortable news. Nevertheless, he wrote in a guest column last weekend that "[schools] alone cannot make the difference".

Nobody questions that parents bear responsibility for their children's development right from birth. And over recent weeks and months, the Journal has reported on a number of worrying trends: children with delayed motor skills or with very limited language skills when they start school, because their parents communicate with them so little.