Responding to the OECD's latest PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment) results, Dr Graham Gault, national secretary at school leaders' union NAHT NI, said:

“The pandemic has undoubtedly had some impact on these results. But after a decade in which investment in our schools has been nowhere near what is needed and they are struggling with a growing recruitment and retention crisis, it is notable that the OECD also highlights the effect of other underlying issues facing education systems. The dedication of schools in helping pupils through this difficult time and its aftermath hasn’t been matched by the level of government ambition or investment required.

“The significantly below average level of life satisfaction reported by children in Northern Ireland is also of real concern. This reflects worries that school leaders have been expressing increasingly in recent years, and represents an issue that must be taken very seriously by government and the wider education system.

“While international comparisons can be interesting and useful, we have to be very careful not to over-interpret these results. The value in studies like PISA are the questions they raise for policy-makers, but rankings or league tables are unhelpful and can be misleading if we’re not careful. We of course should be keen to learn from other nations - that requires a deep understanding of different systems and not just simplistic comparisons. We also need to factor in that different nations will be at different stages of education policy development, and that can influence the results too.

"It is important that politicians and policy makers remain inquisitive about these results, rather than using them for political ends.”