Spain Faces Growing Competency Gap Compared to Developed Countries
An OECD report reveals Spain’s increasing educational competency gap, with younger generations falling behind peers in developed countries despite more schooling.
- • Spain's younger generations have lower competencies than their international peers, despite more years in education.
- • The competency gap is wider among the 25-34 age group compared to older generations.
- • The lack of coherent educational policies has contributed to declining competencies.
- • Earlier generations of Spaniards had higher competencies compared to OECD counterparts, but this advantage has diminished.
Key details
A recent OECD report highlights a troubling increase in Spain's educational competency gap relative to other developed nations. Despite longer years of schooling, younger Spaniards display lower competencies in key areas such as mathematics, science, and reading, as evidenced by PISA findings. The report shows that Spanish individuals aged 25 to 34 lag three times more behind their international peers than those aged 55 to 65, signaling a widening generational gap in skills. Unlike earlier generations born in the 1960s, who had higher competencies than their OECD counterparts, today's younger generations show declining performance despite educational reforms implemented since the 1980s. The lack of coherent and sustained educational policies has been identified as a key factor hindering progress in improving competencies across the country. This disconnect between educational attainment and actual skill acquisition is a source of concern for Spain’s ability to keep pace with global educational standards and economic demands.
This article was synthesized and translated from native language sources to provide English-speaking readers with local perspectives.