Effectiveness and equity in education: Final remarks

Abstract

Over the past two decades, the collected data analysis of students’ performance in international assessments, given its robustness and quality, offers a unique opportunity to study students’ achievements trends and to debate about the drivers behind the evolution of the Portuguese educational system. Starting as one of the worst performing countries, in 2000, Portugal made a steady progression, surpassing the OECD average in 2015. Cross-country differences in educational effectiveness and equity are expected to yield important insights to understand the limitations and weaknesses of the current system and highlight the areas or levels where transformation or experimentation is most needed. In the same vein, examining key trends shaping education globally is necessary to support long-term strategic thinking in education and respond to the ever-increasing and changing societal challenges.