The OECD Education Policy Outlook 2015 talked about national educational policies and reforms across a number of different countries.  K-12 education was the main focus, while vocational education and training, tertiary education, and transitioning students to the workforce were also touched upon.  This article looked at different policies across OECD countries and identified common themes.  What I mostly took away from this reading is the importance of cooperation, not only for international exchange and partnerships, but also to help support each other as countries try to overcome similar challenges.  This can be done by looking at different policies and reforms that were successfully implemented and applying those solutions in a way that is relevant to your country’s situation.  Some of these challenges include improving equity and access by supporting disadvantaged schools and populations, ensuring high quality education through the educational environment and well-trained, effective teachers, and following up with evaluation an assessment.

I thought Korea’s exam-free semester was a unique idea.  I looked into it and found that the main motivation for this policy was to increase creativity and self-discovery outside of the classroom.  An article from The Korea Times explained that unlike in standard semesters where students spend 33 hours per week studying academic subjects, during this test-free term, students will study for 21 hours per week and have the other 12 hours to explore other interests, as long as it is approved by the principal.  This article noted that, “Korean schools have a poor reputation when it comes to cultivating creative and self-directed individuals.”  Parents and students are satisfied with the pilot program, which is set to be fully rolled out on a national level in 2016.  Critics believe that this break from tests could negatively impact academic performance.   It is important to note that taking into account a specific county’s context and unique situation is important before implementing any new reform.  Most of the other policies listed in the student assessment chart (Table 14) include specific grades when standardized assessments will be administered.  A policy like Korea’s test-free semesters would not be necessary or effective in countries that already encourage creativity and pursuing one’s passion.

The State of Higher Education 2014, also published by OECD, similarly looks at common challenges faced across OECD countries, but this time focuses specifically on higher education.  This executive summary notes that there have been many changes in higher education in response to the recent transition to mass participation in higher education experienced by many OECD countries.  These changes include increased diversity and flexibility among higher education institutions and a need for increasing transparency and quality improvements to stay competitive.  The most interesting thing discussed in Chapter 2 for me was the idea of an institution’s value proposition.  A value proposition is like a mission statement, yet also highlights the institution’s specific strengths as a way to separate it from its competition.  This is beneficial to various stakeholders and a well-defined value proposition can help institutions identify what they are good at and build upon those strengths.  It can also help students and parents differentiate between the various types of institutions.