This document discusses school choice and equity from an international perspective based on PISA data. It finds that education systems vary in the diversity of school types (public, private, etc.), level of school autonomy, and opportunities for school choice. While most principals report competing with other schools, parents often perceive less competition. Responsibility for decision-making regarding resources, curriculum, policies also varies - being made at school, local, or national levels. The level of social segregation between schools, use of academic criteria for admissions, and relationship between public and private school performance depends on the country. Overall, less school choice and more residence-based enrollment is linked to less social segregation and more equitable education systems.
3. • Diversity of systems
• In some countries, diversity at supply side:
– Governmental (central, regional, local) schools
– Government-dependent private schools
– Private schools, with or without government funding
• School autonomy varies a lot
• School choice opportunities for parents vary
Education systems as quasi-markets
5. 0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Hong Kong
(China)
Macao
(China)
Belgium Korea Mexico Chile Germany Croatia Portugal Hungary Italy
%
Schools in which principals reported school competition
Schools in which at least 75% of the parents reported school competition
… but in many cases parents perceived less competition between schools
Figure 2.3
6. Who decides?
Percentage of decisions taken at each level of government in public lower secondary education (2017)
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Netherlands
CzechRepublic
England(UK)
Latvia
Flemishcomm.…
Iceland
Estonia
Australia
NewZealand
Slovenia
Scotland(UK)
Chile
Austria
Ireland
SlovakRepublic
Lithuania
EU23average
Sweden
OECDaverage
Italy
Hungary
Denmark
Frenchcomm.…
RussianFederation
Japan
Israel
Germany
Luxembourg
Mexico
UnitedStates
Canada
Korea
Portugal
Norway
France
Spain
Switzerland
Greece
Turkey
Finland
School Local Regional or Sub-regional Central or State Multiple levels%
8. Variation in performance between and within schools
Figure I.6.11
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
20
40
60
80
Netherlands114
B-S-J-G(China)119
Bulgaria115
Hungary104
TrinidadandTobago98
Belgium112
Slovenia101
Germany110
SlovakRepublic109
Malta154
UnitedArabEmirates110
Austria106
Israel126
Lebanon91
CzechRepublic101
Qatar109
Japan97
Switzerland110
Singapore120
Italy93
ChineseTaipei111
Luxembourg112
Turkey70
Brazil89
Croatia89
Greece94
Chile83
Lithuania92
OECDaverage100
Uruguay84
CABA(Argentina)82
Romania70
VietNam65
Korea101
Australia117
UnitedKingdom111
Peru66
Colombia72
Thailand69
HongKong(China)72
FYROM80
Portugal94
DominicanRepublic59
Indonesia52
Georgia92
Jordan79
NewZealand121
UnitedStates108
Montenegro81
Tunisia47
Sweden117
Mexico57
Albania69
Kosovo57
Macao(China)74
Algeria54
Estonia88
Moldova83
CostaRica55
Russia76
Canada95
Poland92
Denmark91
Latvia75
Ireland88
Spain86
Norway103
Finland103
Iceland93
Between-school variation Within-school variation
Total variation as a
proportion of the OECD
average
OECD average 69%
OECD average 30%
%
9. Do public or private schools do better?
It depends
10. PISA performance in public and private schools (science)
-100
-80
-60
-40
-20
0
20
40
60
Turkey
Singapore
VietNam
Japan
Tunisia
Italy
ChineseTaipei
Thailand
Greece
Switzerland
CzechRepublic
UnitedStates
Estonia
Uruguay
France
Austria
CABA(Argentina)
Kosovo
Mexico
HongKong(China)
Indonesia
Luxembourg
Sweden
Hungary
Malta
DominicanRepublic
Latvia
OECDaverage
B-S-J-G(China)
Portugal
Slovenia
Spain
UnitedKingdom
SlovakRepublic
Norway
Australia
Croatia
Denmark
Peru
Jordan
CostaRica
Colombia
Chile
Netherlands
Korea
NewZealand
Canada
Lithuania
Ireland
Georgia
TrinidadandTobago
FYROM
Germany
Finland
Lebanon
Belgium
Poland
Brazil
UnitedArabEmirates
Qatar
Score-pointdifference
Before accounting for socio-economic status After accounting for socio-economic status
Figure II.4.14
Students in private schools perform better
Students in public schools perform better
11. PISA performance in public and private schools (science)
-100
-80
-60
-40
-20
0
20
40
60
Turkey
Singapore
VietNam
Japan
Tunisia
Italy
ChineseTaipei
Thailand
Greece
Switzerland
CzechRepublic
UnitedStates
Estonia
Uruguay
France
Austria
CABA(Argentina)
Kosovo
Mexico
HongKong(China)
Indonesia
Luxembourg
Sweden
Hungary
Malta
DominicanRepublic
Latvia
OECDaverage
B-S-J-G(China)
Portugal
Slovenia
Spain
UnitedKingdom
SlovakRepublic
Norway
Australia
Croatia
Denmark
Peru
Jordan
CostaRica
Colombia
Chile
Netherlands
Korea
NewZealand
Canada
Lithuania
Ireland
Georgia
TrinidadandTobago
FYROM
Germany
Finland
Lebanon
Belgium
Poland
Brazil
UnitedArabEmirates
Qatar
Score-pointdifference
Before accounting for socio-economic background_NS After accounting for socio-economic status
Figure II.4.14
Students in private schools perform better
Students in public schools perform better
12. Science performance and percentage of private schools (PISA 2015)
R² = 0.0004
R² = 0.0739
300
350
400
450
500
550
600
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
PISA2015scienceperformance
Percentage of private schools
OECD countries Partner countries Linear (OECD countries) Linear (Partner countries)
14. School-choice policies and education outcomes
Equity and performance
Private vs public
Enrolment practices
School-choice
policies
School selective practices
Residential segregation
Academic and social
segregation
Education outcomes
School competition
Access to the best schools
Peer effects
Contextual effects
15. Table 2.1Countries assign students to schools in very different ways
PISA 2009 (Part 1/2)
Austria
Belgium(Fl.)
Belgium(Fr.)
Chile
CzechRepublic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Japan
Korea
Latvia
Luxembourg
Mexico
Netherlands
NewZealand
Norway
Poland
Portugal
SlovakRepublic
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
UnitedStates
Initial assignment based on geographical area schools
Families are given a general right to enrol in any
traditional public school they wish
Choice of other public schools is
restricted to the district or municipality
Choice of other public schools is restricted by region
Families must apply to enrol in a public school
other than the one assigned to their child(ren)
There is free choice of other public schools
if there are places available
OECD
Yes
No
16. Table 2.1Countries assign students to schools in very different ways
PISA 2009 (Part 1/2)
Argentina
Brazil
Bulgaria
Colombia
Croatia
HongKong(China)
Lithuania
Macao(China)
Montenegro
Peru
Qatar
Singapore
ChineseTaipei
Thailand
Initial assignment based on geographical area schools
Families are given a general right to enrol in any
traditional public school they wish
Choice of other public schools is
restricted to the district or municipality
Choice of other public schools is restricted by region
Families must apply to enrol in a public school
other than the one assigned to their child(ren)
There is free choice of other public schools
if there are places available
Partners
Yes
No
17. Australia
Canada
Chile
Finland
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Mexico
New Zealand
Norway
Poland
Spain
Sweden Switzerland
UK
United States
Albania
Algeria¹
B-S-J-G (China)
Bulgaria
CABA (Argentina)
Colombia
Croatia
North Macedonia
Indonesia
Kosovo¹
Montenegro
Peru
Russia
Trinidad and Tobago
Viet Nam
R² = 0.08
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Dissimilarityindexfordisadvantagedstudents
Residence as an admission criterion (%)
OECD
average
Social segregation amongst schools is negatively related to school
enrolment based on residence
Figure 4.4
More schools rely on residence-based criteria for enrolment
OECD
average
Moresegregation–disadvantagedstudents
19. Selection of students based on academic criteria is more prevalent
in private schools than in public schools
Figure 2.6
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
HongKong(China)
Japan
Thailand
Singapore
Hungary
Kosovo
VietNam
Turkey
Netherlands
Austria
Luxembourg
Lebanon
Indonesia
NorthMacedonia
TrinidadandTobago
Tunisia
Switzerland
Mexico
Albania
SlovakRepublic
CzechRepublic
Italy
UnitedArabEmirates
ChineseTaipei
Korea
Germany
CostaRica
Malta
Colombia
B-S-J-G(China)
OECDaverage
Qatar
Australia
NewZealand
Slovenia
Latvia
Ireland
Portugal
France
Georgia
Lithuania
UnitedStates
Estonia
Canada
DominicanRepublic
Jordan
Uruguay
Brazil
Chile
UnitedKingdom
Poland
CABA(Argentina)
Peru
Denmark
Norway
Spain
Greece
Finland
Academic performance as an admissions criterion in public schools
Academic performance as an admissions criterion in private schools%
Percentage of students enrolled in schools in which academic performance (including placement tests)
is always considered for admission
20. In most countries, social segregation is more prevalent
amongst private than public schools…
Figure 4.2
0.00
0.05
0.10
0.15
0.20
0.25
0.30
0.35
0.40
Tunisia
Portugal
Mexico
Colombia
Poland
Indonesia
Italy
Thailand
Chile
B-S-J-G(China)
CABA(Argentina)
Jordan
Turkey
Luxembourg
CzechRepublic
Estonia
Georgia
Singapore
Peru
Hungary
Brazil
Austria
France
OECDaverage
Spain
SlovakRepublic
DominicanRepublic
Lebanon
UnitedArabEmirates
CostaRica
Uruguay
Lithuania
UnitedKingdom
Australia
Kosovo
Japan
ChineseTaipei
Latvia
Qatar
NewZealand
UnitedStates
Korea
Croatia
HongKong(China)
Greece
Canada
Switzerland
TrinidadandTobago
Ireland
Norway
VietNam
Germany
Netherlands
Denmark
Finland
Malta
Slovenia
NorthMacedonia
Social segregation in private schools Social segregation in public schools
No-diversity index
Moresegregation
21. …but the segregation observed between public and private schools
does not contribute much to the overall level of segregation
Figure 4.1
0.00
0.05
0.10
0.15
0.20
0.25
0.30
Peru
CABA(Argentina)
Indonesia
Mexico
Chile
Colombia
B-S-J-G(China)
Lebanon
CostaRica
Hungary
CzechRepublic
Australia
VietNam
Uruguay
Georgia
Brazil
Thailand
Spain
Tunisia
SlovakRepublic
Latvia
Lithuania
DominicanRepublic
Slovenia
Austria
Portugal
UnitedStates
Germany
Singapore
OECDaverage
Estonia
Jordan
Italy
UnitedKingdom
France
UnitedArabEmirates
Greece
Luxembourg
Netherlands
Turkey
HongKong(China)
NewZealand
Japan
Korea
ChineseTaipei
Poland
Denmark
Canada
Switzerland
Croatia
Ireland
Malta
TrinidadandTobago
Qatar
Norway
NorthMacedonia
Finland
Kosovo
No-diversity index
Social segregation observed between public and private schools
Social segregation induced by private schools
Social segregation induced by public schools
Decomposition of the no-diversity index based on the contributions of public and private schools
Moresegregation
22. Australia
Austria
Belgium
Chile
Czech Republic
Finland
France
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Luxembourg
Mexico
Norway
Poland
Slovak Republic
Turkey
United States
Algeria
Brazil
B-S-J-G (China)
Bulgaria
CABA (Argentina)
Colombia
Costa Rica
Croatia North Macedonia
Hong Kong
(China)
Indonesia
Jordan
Kosovo
Lebanon
Macao (China)
Montenegro
Peru
Qatar
Romania
Russia
Singapore
Thailand Tunisia
United Arab
Emirates
Uruguay
OECD average
R² = 0.44
0.05
0.10
0.15
0.20
0.25
0.30
051015202530
Variation in reading performance explained by students’ socio-economic status (%)
In 2015, countries and economies where schools were less socially
diverse had also less-equitable education systems
Figure 5.2
Moresegregation
Greater equity
24. Focus on framework conditions and implementation
• School choice neither assures nor undermines the quality of education.
• It is the framework conditions under which school choice and school
vouchers operate, and how such instruments are implemented, that seem to
matter most.
Ensure that choice is real, relevant and meaningful
• School choice will only generate the anticipated benefits when the choice is
real, relevant and meaningful.
Create a level playing field for all providers to enter the system
• When private schools are part of a “functionally public” system, they should
have the capacity to offer a similar range of options for courses as public
schools do and receive a commensurate level of public funding.
• When expanding school choice and vouchers for private schools, policies
should also ensure that public schools are granted greater autonomy.
Some conclusions
25. Ensure that all schools that receive public funds meet their public obligations
• As universities and hospitals already do, private schools that accept public
funding should be obliged to maintain the “public good” in return for that
support.
Ensure that all parents can exercise their right to choose a school of their
preference
• Sometimes school choice policies fail because parents limited ability to
exercise their right to choose.
• Schools, public and private alike, should invest in developing their
relationships with parents and local communities in order to help parents
make informed decisions.
Some conclusions
26. Provide the checks and balances that prevent choice from leading to more inequity
and segregation
• Regulating the conditions under which schools develop access and selection
policies.
Work to make education systems more demand-sensitive
• School choice is only one way through which parents and local communities can
have a greater impact on, and voice in, education.
• School choice works more effectively in a participatory and inclusive climate.
• School autonomy, the professionalisation of teachers and school leaders, and
student participation increase as parents are granted greater choice of schools.
• The benefits of school choice will only materialise in an environment where
parents, students, external stakeholders and the local community can participate
in the school and have their voices heard and appreciated.
Some conclusions