The OECD has issued a critical report on Catalonia’s education system, urging urgent reforms after years of disappointing student performance. Commissioned by the regional government, the study highlights persistent inequalities and declining learning outcomes, and calls for changes to how schools are managed and resourced. The work forms part of the OECD’s Education Policy Outlook structure, which examines education policy and ways to improve school systems.
Presented by the Department of Education, the report, titled Mejorar los resultados del aprendizaje en Cataluña, sets out six basic priorities. They include stronger school leadership and changes to teacher career development, alongside better use of student assessment data and resources allocated information from each school’s complexity. The OECD also calls for an evaluation of how inclusive education policies are put into practice. Diana Toledo, an analyst in the OECD Directorate for Education and Skills, coordinated the analysis. Her work covers education-reform evaluation, equity-oriented governance and continuous improvement of school systems.
One of the report’s basic recommendations is to give school directors greater authority, particularly when selecting teaching staff. Catalonia’s current regulations allow some flexibility, but union resistance has limited the practical effect of these measures. The OECD says stronger leadership is impressive to improving education and meeting students’ diverse needs. The focus on governance and equity raises a broader question: how can schools use their authority and resources to improve outcomes for different student populations?
Teacher training is another focus. The report calls for more practical, higher-quality initial training at university level, as well as a structured career path that lets educators specialize or take on mentoring roles. It also identifies cuts to school leaders’ administrative burdens as basic to freeing them to focus on pedagogical leadership.
The OECD highlights persistent challenges around school segregation and support for vulnerable students. Its recommendations include expanding emotional and psychological support in classrooms, refining admissions policies to combat segregation, and distributing resources according to the challenges each school faces. The focus is on equipping teachers and administrators to put inclusive practices into effect, not simply adding staff.
Catalonia’s assessment practices are rich in data, but the information is often underused. The OECD says extensive figures on student and system performance rarely lead to concrete policies or classroom strategies. The report calls for a more systematic approach to using evaluation results in decisions at every level.
Funding and governance complete the recommendations. The report calls for clear priorities, with resources aligned to them and programs and implementation strategies shaped around those goals. The aim is to direct investment where it can have the greatest impact, particularly in schools facing greater complexity.
The report’s release follows intense debate over Catalonia’s education results. The regional government commissioned the study after a series of poor results in local and international assessments, including PISA. Commentary on the 2022 PISA cycle describes a reversal: Catalonia was above the average of comparable European regions in 2015, but fell below it in 2022 in mathematics. Reading and science results also fell below the average. The decision to bring in the OECD, at a cost of €1.5 million, was controversial. Some experts argued that similar analyses had already been conducted locally and that immediate action mattered more than further diagnosis.
The OECD says Catalonia benefits from high participation rates and a relatively favorable economic and institutional context. Persistent socioeconomic disparities and a worrying decline in student achievement offset those strengths. Via Empresa also reports that higher-education attainment in Catalonia stands at 56.50%, above the EU’s 45% target for 2021-2030. The figures cover different stages of education: tertiary attainment does not erase the learning concerns captured by PISA. The report echoes concerns raised in previous analyses, including recent coverage of stagnating education results and widening inequality in Catalonia.
Catalonia’s education system serves over 1.5 million students across public and private schools. The region has long prided itself on educational new idea, but pressure has mounted in recent years to address gaps in achievement and equity. The OECD’s recommendations are expected to shape policy discussions during the current legislative term. A phased plan runs through 2028, moving from diagnosis to implementation and then consolidation and dissemination, while debate continues over funding, governance and school leadership.
