Why is nobody blaming immigration for Spain's PISA decline?
The PISA report reveals an educational decline in Spain. What role does immigration play in this context, and what data confirm it? Here are the key points.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Immigration is not the main cause of the decline in Spain's educational results, according to the available data, which point to curriculum changes and pandemic management as more decisive factors.
Education in Spain seems to be at a crossroads, and the results of the **PISA** report do little to dispel the doubts. For a decade now, we have been witnessing a steady decline in the tests that assess the performance of **15 and 16 year old** students internationally. The latest data, published in **2022**, confirm this worrying trend, and the question that arises is whether immigration has anything to do with it.
## The curriculum and the pandemic, the main focus
The reality is that, when we analyse the factors influencing educational performance, immigration does not appear as the main determining factor in the available reports and analyses. Experts and the very documents analysing the **PISA** decline point to other elements with greater weight. One key point is the evolution of the educational curriculum. The **Lomloe** education law, passed in December **2020**, introduced an approach more focused on students' competences, attitudes and values, at the expense of memorising specific content. While the intention is to foster more well-rounded learning, the difficulty of measuring these competences and the possible dilution of basic content, such as mathematics, have been the subject of debate.
The **Elbichito-19** pandemic also left a deep mark. The relaxation of promotion and graduation criteria, which allowed students to move up a grade and even obtain the ESO certificate (the Spanish secondary school diploma) with no limit on failed subjects, was introduced as an exceptional measure. However, this dispensation became the norm, and the recovery of the content not taught during school closures never materialised effectively. This affected a generation of students who experienced these changes at crucial stages of their education, moving from a more traditional education to one more focused on projects and qualitative assessment, but with a knowledge base that may have been compromised.
## The influence of screens and teacher bureaucracy
Another aspect that has been raised is the impact of screens on learning. The **PISA** report itself had already warned in **2022** about the distraction that electronic devices can cause, even when used for educational purposes. From **three hours** of daily use onwards, academic performance tended to decline. The arrival of artificial intelligence in teenagers' lives, which **PISA 2025** will measure for the first time, adds a new layer of complexity to this debate.
Moreover, the bureaucratic burden on teachers has increased considerably. The need to fill in countless rubrics for qualitative assessments, combined with the feeling of having to act as psychologists and nurses as well, has led many teachers to feel that school has become more of a "care facility" than a place of learning. The lack of effective reform of the teaching profession, one that would improve teacher training and recognition, has not helped to reverse the situation either.
## And what about immigration?
While it is true that the composition of the student body has changed in recent decades, and the presence of students of immigrant origin is significant in many schools, the available data do not point to immigration as the main cause of the drop in **PISA** results. The report focuses on assessing competences and knowledge, and the analyses seeking the causes of the decline point more to education policies, curriculum changes and the management of crises such as the pandemic.
It is true that integrating students with different cultural and linguistic backgrounds presents challenges, and schools must adapt to offer an equitable, quality education for all. However, attributing the educational slump to immigration without solid data and specific analysis would be oversimplifying a complex problem. Education is a fundamental pillar, and addressing it requires a deep look at all the factors that influence it, from the curriculum to investment in teachers and adaptation to the new times.
Education in Spain seems to be at a crossroads, and the results of the **PISA** report do little to dispel the doubts. For a decade now, we have been witnessing a steady decline in the tests that assess the performance of **15 and 16 year old** students internationally. The latest data, published in **2022**, confirm this worrying trend, and the question that arises is whether immigration has anything to do with it.
## The curriculum and the pandemic, the main focus
The reality is that, when we analyse the factors influencing educational performance, immigration does not appear as the main determining factor in the available reports and analyses. Experts and the very documents analysing the **PISA** decline point to other elements with greater weight. One key point is the evolution of the educational curriculum. The **Lomloe** education law, passed in December **2020**, introduced an approach more focused on students' competences, attitudes and values, at the expense of memorising specific content. While the intention is to foster more well-rounded learning, the difficulty of measuring these competences and the possible dilution of basic content, such as mathematics, have been the subject of debate.
The **Elbichito-19** pandemic also left a deep mark. The relaxation of promotion and graduation criteria, which allowed students to move up a grade and even obtain the ESO certificate (the Spanish secondary school diploma) with no limit on failed subjects, was introduced as an exceptional measure. However, this dispensation became the norm, and the recovery of the content not taught during school closures never materialised effectively. This affected a generation of students who experienced these changes at crucial stages of their education, moving from a more traditional education to one more focused on projects and qualitative assessment, but with a knowledge base that may have been compromised.
## The influence of screens and teacher bureaucracy
Another aspect that has been raised is the impact of screens on learning. The **PISA** report itself had already warned in **2022** about the distraction that electronic devices can cause, even when used for educational purposes. From **three hours** of daily use onwards, academic performance tended to decline. The arrival of artificial intelligence in teenagers' lives, which **PISA 2025** will measure for the first time, adds a new layer of complexity to this debate.
Moreover, the bureaucratic burden on teachers has increased considerably. The need to fill in countless rubrics for qualitative assessments, combined with the feeling of having to act as psychologists and nurses as well, has led many teachers to feel that school has become more of a "care facility" than a place of learning. The lack of effective reform of the teaching profession, one that would improve teacher training and recognition, has not helped to reverse the situation either.
## And what about immigration?
While it is true that the composition of the student body has changed in recent decades, and the presence of students of immigrant origin is significant in many schools, the available data do not point to immigration as the main cause of the drop in **PISA** results. The report focuses on assessing competences and knowledge, and the analyses seeking the causes of the decline point more to education policies, curriculum changes and the management of crises such as the pandemic.
It is true that integrating students with different cultural and linguistic backgrounds presents challenges, and schools must adapt to offer an equitable, quality education for all. However, attributing the educational slump to immigration without solid data and specific analysis would be oversimplifying a complex problem. Education is a fundamental pillar, and addressing it requires a deep look at all the factors that influence it, from the curriculum to investment in teachers and adaptation to the new times.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (0 replies).
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