Why countries should get out of PISA! - A Conversation with Dr. Yong Zhao

⁠Yong Zhao⁠ is a Foundation Distinguished Professor in
the ⁠School of Education at the University of
Kansas⁠ and a professor in Educational Leadership at the
Faculty of Education, University of Melbourne in Australia.
He previously served as the Presidential Chair, Associate
Dean, and Director of the Institute for Global and Online
Education in the College of Education, University of Oregon,
where he was also a Professor in the Department of Educational
Measurement, Policy, and Leadership. Prior to Oregon, Yong Zhao
was University Distinguished Professor at the College of
Education, Michigan State University, where he also served as the
founding director of the Center for Teaching and Technology,
executive director of the ⁠Confucius Institute⁠, as well as
the US-China Center for Research on Educational
Excellence. He is an elected member of the ⁠National
Academy of Education⁠ and a fellow of
the ⁠International Academy of Education⁠.


In this conversation we chat about why the US should abandon PISA
- the "nonsensical global academic horse race":
https://dianeravitch.net/2024/02/12/yong-zhao-why-doesnt-the-u-s-scrap-pisa/


"If ChatGPT had taken the 2022 PISA, it is highly likely that it
would outscore all the students in the world.”


We also discuss why countries generally should stop comparing and
borrowing from each other, and why diversity and localisation and
personalisation are Yong’s keys to how the educational landscape
needs to develop in the future.


Recent books and articles:


Duck and Cover: Confronting and Correcting Dubious Practices in
Education with Rick Ginsberg (2023)


'Shifting the Education Paradigm: Why International Borrowing is
No Longer Sufficient for Improving Education in China' (2018).


'“Testing treats students as enemies and are often launched
against them in an ambush”, wrote Mao in 1964, “It works against
the active and lively development of youth morally,
intellectually, and physically”'


Learning for Uncertainty: Reach for greatness (2023) 


Social Links


LinkedIn: @yong-zhao


X: @YongZhaoEd