Implications of PISA Outcomes for Science Curriculum Reform in the Netherlands

Abstract

As the PISA 2006 results came out, the Netherlands briefly celebrated their 9th position in the overall country ranking for science. After that, interest in the PISA results rapidly declined. Nevertheless, there is sufficient reason to take a closer look at the PISA results, for instance because (a) our neighbours are catching up, (b) currently ambitious curriculum innovation programmes are being conducted in most of secondary education, and (c) fierce debates are going on about the merits of the proposed innovations. The pressing question is: are we heading in the right direction? To answer this question we additionally analysed PISA 2006 data, we identified strengths and weaknesses at the item level, and we analysed the student data for those specific items. As a reference for comparative analyses across countries, we used a relevant peer group of seven neighbouring countries. Main findings include that Dutch students do well on highly contextualized items, interpretation of graphs and Knowledge of Science. Dutch students perform relatively weak on items with low context and on multiple response items. In addition, Dutch students in secondary vocational education have specific difficulty in answering open-constructed response items. A major issue in the Netherlands is the low science attitudes and self-concept of students in secondary education. In view of those results, recent efforts to promote and improve science education might be well on track. However, we also identify some policy threats, especially when it comes to Knowledge about Science.