Education Policy Outlook 2018

Spain

Context

Spain scored close to the OECD average in science in PISA 2015, with a mean score of 493 points, equal to the overall OECD average. Performance in science remained stable across PISA cycles. Mathematics performance also remained stable, while performance in reading has improved, with an average rate of change of 6.6 score points. Socio-economic status had an impact close to the OECD average on science performance in PISA 2015, explaining 13.4% of the variance in performance (OECD average: 12.9%). The impact of ESCS on performance in science has not changed since 2006. Gender differences in science performance were higher than the OECD average, with a difference between boys and girls of 7 points, compared to the average difference across the OECD of 4 points. Immigrant students make up 11% of the student population of 15-year-olds in Spain, close to the OECD average of 12.5%. Performance differences between immigrant and non-immigrant students are lower than the OECD average. Immigrants scored on average 28 score points lower than non-immigrants in science in PISA 2015, compared to the OECD average of 31 score points.

Enrolment of 3-year-olds in ECEC and pre-primary education was higher than the OECD average in 2015, at 94.9% (OECD average: 77.8%). Pre-primary education (Educación infantil segundo ciclo) lasts for three years, with a formal curriculum that is delivered by qualified teachers. Children generally begin this programme at age 3. Compulsory education in Spain begins at age 6 and ends at age 16, similar to the typical duration across the OECD. Students are first tracked into different educational pathways at age 16, later than the OECD average of age 14.

In Spain, VET is offered in upper secondary and tertiary education. To improve the system, Spain has recently sought to make access to post-secondary education more flexible and to align VET diplomas to individual competences defined by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Labour and the Ministry of the Presidency. In the OECD Survey of Adult Skills in 2012 and 2015, adult literacy scores in Spain were lower than the OECD average, at 252 points, compared to the OECD average of 268 points. The gap in literacy skills between older adults (age 55-65) and younger adults (age 55-65) and younger adults (age 25-34) was among the highest in the OECD. The proportion of the population aged 25-64 with lower secondary education as the highest level of attainment in Spain is among the highest in the OECD, with an attainment rate of 30.6% in 2016, compared to the OECD average of 14.3%. NEET rates (the proportion of those aged 18-24 that are neither employed nor in education or training) are among the highest in the OECD, at 23.2%, compared to the OECD average of 15.3%. The percentage of the population aged 25-34 with a tertiary-level qualification is lower than the OECD average, at 41% in 2016, compared to the OECD average of 43.1%. Employment rates for 25-34 year-olds with tertiary education are lower than the OECD average. In 2016, 75.9% were employed, while the OECD average rate was 82.9%.

Figure 7.23. Selected indicators compared with the average: Spain

Note: For each indicator, the absolute performance is standardised (normalised) using a normative score ranging from 0 to 220, where 100 was set at the average, taking into account all OECD countries with available data in each case.

Sources: OECD (2016), PISA 2015 Results (Volume I): Excellence and Equity in Education, PISA, OECD Publishing, Paris, http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264266490-en; OECD (2016), Skills Matter: Further Results from the Survey of Adult Skills, OECD Publishing, Paris, http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264258051-en; OECD (2017), Education at a Glance 2017: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, Paris, http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/eag-2017-en.

Statlink

Evolution of key education policy priorities

Table 7.23. Evolution of key education policy priorities, Spain (2008-17)

Identified by	Equity and quality	Preparing students for the future
Selected OECD country-based work, 2008-171	The OECD identified the need to increase performance and graduation rates in secondary education. [2014]	The proportion of the population aged 25-64 with lower secondary education as the highest level of attainment in Spain is among the highest in the OECD, and NEET rates are significant as well. The main reason for the still large share of poorly qualified youth is that the dropout rate from secondary school remains too high. Spain also seems to be underutilising the skills that do exist, with a high proportion of workers in occupations for which they are over-skilled. The proportion of tertiary graduates employed in jobs that do not require this type of qualification has been consistently higher than most of the rest of Europe over the past decade, indicating that this is a structural problem. [2014]
Evolution of responses to EPO Surveys, 2013 and 2016‑17	Spain reported a persistently high share of grade repetition, although it had decreased from 34% in 2012 to 31% in 2015. The social and economic costs of grade repetition are high, as results obtained in subsequent years of students repeating a class tend to be negative. Also, it impairs equity and can cause student dropout. It has a large impact on spending on students, as a significant part of the education budget is devoted to it. [2013; 2016-17]	Challenges remain in tackling high dropout rates and youth unemployment. [2013; 2016-17]

1. See Annex A, Table A A.3 for the list of OECD publications consulted for this snapshot.

Selected policy responses

In Spain, the Programme to Reduce Early Dropout in Education and Training (2014-20) provides funding for preventive measures, such as external evaluations in certain grades to detect early difficulties in learning and minimise the risk of dropout. In addition, a royal decree regulates the general system of scholarships and study aids annually. Studies are conducted to identify areas with high school dropout rates to analyse causes and profiles and thereby evaluate and design specific intervention pathways. Awareness campaigns are targeted at students and their families to ensure the best possible use of training. Specific programmes are implemented in areas and groups with the highest dropout risk through co-operation and co-ordination with different institutions and local and regional authorities. Also, to facilitate reintegration, young people from age 16 to age 24 who drop out are supported through adult education institutions and local authorities.

• Progress or impact: Evaluation has shown that programmes on second-chance opportunities and vocational training measures offered by adult education institutions have contributed to the reduction of dropout rates in Spain. Early school leaving rates of 18-24 years-olds have declined from 31.7% in 2008 to 18.3 % in 2017 (Eurostat, 2016).

Since 2012, Spain has promoted the Dual Vocational Training Model, with entrepreneurs co-responsible not only for the design of the training offer, but also for its implementation. Since its first year of implementation in 2012/13, the number of students has increased fourfold to 24 000, and the number of interested companies has increased to more than 10 000. This training model is proving effective for transferring knowledge between educational institutions and companies and, therefore, for improving the quality of training, the innovative potential of enterprises and students’ employability.

• Progress or impact: According to a 2016 evaluation, the outcomes of this model have so far been positive. In the first year of implementation (2012-13), 173 schools, 513 companies and 4 292 students were involved in the programme. In 2016, 17 854 schools, more than 10 000 companies and more than five times as many students (24 000) participated (Government of Spain, 2017). At the same time, a 2016 evaluation of the Alliance for Dual Vocational Training (a private, non-governmental organisation) identified several challenges, including: 1) increasing the scale, while ensuring quality; 2) developing knowledge and awareness about the model to avoid the emergence of divergent VET models; 3) increasing co-operation among the different stakeholders; and 4) implementing a framework to guide the development of all regional models that clarifies all the elements essential to Dual VET (Bassols and Salvans, 2016).

Additional education policies of potential interest to other countries

• The Organic Law for the Improvement of Educational Quality (Ley Orgánica para la Mejora de la Calidad Educativa, LOMCE, 2013) intends to raise students’ outcomes by defining core basic education countrywide, while considering the special requirements of regional governments.

More information available at: www.oecd.org/education/policyoutlook.htm.