Source · Select Committees · Education Committee
Recommendation 21
21
Deferred
Paragraph: 80
England and UK nations currently opt out of PISA financial literacy assessments.
Conclusion
The OECD’s internationally renowned PISA assessments, which examine the education performance of children in different subjects, include an assessment of financial education; England and each of the UK nations has currently opted out of participating in this. The Minister told us that this was to reduce the burden on teachers and because, in his view, participation in the mathematics section of PISA was sufficient. Whilst we accept that there is some correlation between outcomes for the mathematics and financial literacy PISA assessments, results in the former do not necessarily reflect performance in the latter. Participating in the financial literacy assessment would demonstrate the Government’s commitment to improving financial education in England and give the subject more prominence. The emphasis that the Prime Minster has placed on financial literacy surely means he should want the UK to be showing a lead in this area. If other devolved nations chose to follow such an approach it would allow for useful and valuable comparisons between them and the English system.
Government Response Summary
The government explained that financial literacy is not an option for the PISA 2025 cycle due to burdens on schools, but committed to consider participation in the 2029 cycle after mid-2026 when more information is available from the OECD. This consideration may include piloting the assessment.
Paragraph Reference:
80
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
Financial literacy is not an option offered by the OECD in the current (2025) cycle of PISA as it has been replaced for this cycle with a foreign language assessment. Securing school participation in PISA can be difficult as the study places additional burdens on schools and pupils during pupils’ GCSE year. Participating in additional assessments risks increasing this burden and could affect our ability to secure sufficient schools to take part in the study. However, the Department for Education will consider participation in the next (2029) cycle after mid-2026, when more information on the study and its available options is provided by the OECD. This may include piloting the financial literacy assessment at the field trial stage to evaluate the feasibility of delivering this option, particularly the impact on securing school participation and the extent of the additional burden on schools and pupils. As education is devolved, the devolved governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are responsible for education, skills and family policies and education systems in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland respectively. However, engagement between governments allows us to share our collective knowledge and experience and work collaboratively on shared interests and challenges to deliver better outcomes for people across the UK. The Department for Education engages the devolved governments at ministerial and official level on a range of areas covering education, skills and family policies and will continue to do so. We are happy to include discussions about involvement in future PISA financial literacy assessments.