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On the CSV podcast “Mikroskop” about the results of the 2025 PISA study, CSV MP and Vice President
of the Education Committee Ricardo Marques calls for a “more high-performing school”: PISA is not a ranking list, but an invitation to take an honest look at the school system in order to strengthen basic skills (almost 40% do not reach the required level in reading), foster resilience (52% of young people give up when things get harder) and combat social inequality.
The MP from the East says on the CSV and Chamber podcast that one circumstance in particular shocked him: “30% of our students say school no longer means anything to them. That’s a catastrophe!”
Now the aim is to improve the system where it makes sense, so that we not only make our students more resilient, but also strengthen basic skills again so that we get back to a high-performing level.
You can find the full conversation on YouTube and everywhere you can find Podcasts.
FAQ - A quick overview of the topic
Why does Ricardo Marques say PISA is not a ranking list?
Because for him it’s not the place (7th, 17th or 27th) that matters, but the question of what Luxembourg can concretely do better. PISA provides millions of data points that must be analyzed in order to find the right levers for reforms.
What is the problem with basic skills?
Almost 40% of students do not reach PISA level 2 in reading. For Ricardo Marques, that is the absolute minimum for being able to function independently in society. He calls reading “the mother of all skills.”
What does Ricardo Marques mean by students’ comfort zone?
That learning processes begin exactly when a student masters a challenge. If 52% give up as soon as it gets more difficult, it’s precisely this resilience that is lacking — and school must put it back at the center.
What is Ricardo Marques’s and the CSV’s position in the Chamber on iPads and mobile phones at school?
The iPad should be a tool, not the main thing. Writing as a motor skill and reading must not be lost. Digital media should be understood, not just consumed. Innovation lies in the younger generation, not in the tools.
What concrete reforms does he propose?
Two points: in the Cycle inférieur of the general secondary education track, reform the promotion rules (and accompany a strengths/weaknesses profile from 7e to 5e), and in the Fondamental, understand the “core” not as a maximum, but as a minimum, in order to bring every student to the intermediate and advanced level.
Ricardo Marques on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DdbIbeGtgo6/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading"
A post shared by Ricardo Marques (@rices)
Listen to the conversation in full length here: