Why teenagers are doing worse at school

{"text":[[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":5.76,"text":"Artificial intelligence is getting smarter. Human intelligence, however, appears to be going the other way — at least among teenagers."}],[{"start":12.88,"text":"The performance of students in science, mathematics and reading has plunged to record lows across developed nations, according to the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which tests 15- to 16-year-olds roughly every three years."}],[{"start":27.98,"text":"Many glanced at the most recent data release and reached for simplistic explanations in an attempt to interpret the decline. But this only risks obscuring the problem and the solutions."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":38.3,"text":"One frequently cited culprit is the Covid-19 pandemic. Lockdown measures disrupted learning across the world and contributed to steep drops in PISA scores between 2018 and 2022. Pupils sitting last year’s tests would have been around 10 years old in 2020. School closures might have hit younger students harder, coming at a more formative stage of their education."}],[{"start":61.16,"text":"But zooming out, OECD-wide PISA scores have been falling since the early 2010s, which means broader underlying factors are also at play. This has put the spotlight on technology. The use of AI by students has surged in recent years. In science, pupils who use chatbots every day for tasks such as summarising and drafting text tend to underperform those who barely use it by the equivalent of about one year of schooling."}],[{"start":86.6,"text":"While offloading cognitive tasks to AI can atrophy processing skills, much depends on how the technology is used. Indeed, students who use it daily to aid, rather than replace, thinking perform better than those who use it less frequently. (Students with opportunities to develop AI literacy skills at school also perform better.)"}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":105.76,"text":"Besides, chatbots are a more recent phenomenon and the beginning of the decline in PISA scores coincides with the proliferation of smartphone use among teenagers. Digital devices distract and endless content absorbs mental bandwidth. It is telling that many Silicon Valley executives limit their own children’s screen time."}],[{"start":124.6,"text":"Still, some nations have managed to avoid notable declines in attainment amid the pandemic and technological shifts. This has led some to advance policy-based explanations. For instance, students with access to high-quality teachers tend to outperform, and schools that place restrictions or guidelines on phone use report lower distraction rates on average, according to PISA."}],[{"start":144.88,"text":"More broadly, nations that have leaned into educational fads, which generally involve placing less emphasis on a core knowledge framework, have experienced more notable drops in long-term performance. Average scores in Finland, once the darling of supposed innovative teaching practices involving play-based learning and less testing, have declined the most among rich nations since 2006 across all three subjects. Shifts to less rigorous teaching methods in Sweden in the 1990s and in Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence in 2010 have been linked to subsequent declines in student outcomes, too."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":179.44,"text":"By contrast, countries that have retained an emphasis on foundational subject matter, such as England and Estonia, as well as nations in east Asia, have stemmed declines. The share of “low performers” across science, mathematics and reading — that is, those achieving below baseline proficiency — is also well below the OECD average in many of these countries, suggesting that with patience, repetition and support, most students can achieve a functional understanding of core concepts."}],[{"start":206.32,"text":"Progressives too easily dismiss the value of traditional teaching, but facts are the building blocks of critical thinking and tackling repeated algebraic problems, for instance, hones abstract reasoning. (PISA assesses pupils’ application of skills to real-life problems, not purely mastery of knowledge.)"}],[{"start":222.98,"text":"This does not mean non-traditional forms of teaching have no merit. For instance, high-performing Estonia and Singapore embrace technology and autonomous and interdisciplinary learning. And in both, use of AI is well above the OECD average."}],[{"start":236.88,"text":"Finally, some blame immigration for dragging down national scores. Immigrant students are more likely to come from disadvantaged backgrounds or speak a language at home that differs from the language of the test, which can contribute to weaker performance. But non-immigrant students’ average reading, maths and science scores have also fallen over the past decade across the OECD, implying that broader forces are at work."}],[{"start":259.38,"text":"Rapid immigration can certainly stretch local education systems, but it can raise performance, too. On average, countries with a larger share of immigrant students tend to perform better in science. In some countries, including the UK, Australia, Canada and the United Arab Emirates, immigrant students outperform those from non-immigrant backgrounds. Studies show exposure to immigrant students with a particularly hard-working ethic can drive up the performance of native students."}],[{"start":284.92,"text":"This highlights another important factor in learning outcomes: the home environment. Parents’ education and involvement in their child’s learning, as well as their attitudes towards education and command of the teaching language, can shape how well children perform, regardless of the system."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":301.12,"text":"There are then myriad, interlinked reasons for the decline in PISA scores. But beneath the grim numbers lies an empowering lesson: a good education still appears to rest on some enduring principles, such as attention, core knowledge, quality teaching and a culture that values learning. The use of technology and liberal teaching practices ought to complement these foundations, not displace them."}],[{"start":323.74,"text":"Send your thoughts in the comments, to freelunch@ft.com or via X @tejparikh90."}],[{"start":324.24,"text":"Food for thought"}],[{"start":330.14,"text":"The first large-scale economic study of workplace meetings concludes that they resemble broccoli — widely disliked, but probably worthwhile."}],[{"start":339.86,"text":"Free Lunch on Sunday is edited by Harvey Nriapia"}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":344.66,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1789348433_7034.mp3"}