One in five British students leave school without acquiring basic skills, according to a new report commissioned by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
The report, titled ‘Universal Basic Skills: What countries stand to gain’, was produced by economists Eric Hanushek and Ludger Woessmann.
It includes the biggest ever global school rankings, which rank 76 countries according to how well their students perform. The analysis is based on test scores in maths and science, and is an expansion on the OECD’s Pisa test scores.
Asian countries dominate the top of the rankings, with Singapore heading the table, followed by Hong Kong in second place and South Korea in third.
The United Kingdom ranks 20th, and the United States comes in at number 28.
