Education and Training Monitor 2024 shows decreasing basic skills, focuses on learning for sustainability
The latest edition of the Education and Training Monitor, unveiled at the Education for Climate Day 2024, takes a closer look at the downward trend in basic skills of young Europeans.
Key insights
Downward trend in basic skills
Overall, performance in reading, maths and science has dropped to record lows across the EU amongst today’s 15-year-olds. COVID-19 school closures exacerbated trends that were already going downward.
One out of three students cannot do basic mathematical calculations and one in four underachieve in reading and science.
Young people from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds are over 6 times more likely to underachieve than their advantaged peers.
Learning for sustainability
Most EU education systems have started helping schools develop learning for sustainability, according to the report.
What is the EU doing?
The ‘Pathways to School Success’ flagship initiative already promotes better educational outcomes for all learners, regardless of their socio-economic, cultural, or personal backgrounds.
Under the 2024-2029 Commission, work on promoting basic skills will be prioritised. An action plan will help Member States further strengthen basic skills development of all young people and improve educational outcomes, from early years through all stages of school education.
The EU is also encouraging and supporting the education and training sector to take action for a greener, more sustainable future and to build the sustainability competences of learners.
Find out more about our green education initiatives
About the Education and Training Monitor
The Education and Training Monitor is an annual report with the latest facts and figures about EU education systems.
It consist of
- a comparative report
- tracking progress towards our EU-level targets for 2025 and 2030
- linking to other evidence to provide context and suggest possible ways forward
- country reports
- focusing on policy developments in all 27 EU countries
- providing in-depth insights into the performance of the EU education systems
- a toolbox
- giving an overview of the thematic and country-specific evidence base
- hosting a “teachers’ dashboard” on the attractiveness of teaching jobs