---
title: ▍Use Data to Build Better Schools
created: 2026-06-10
modified: 2026-06-10
authors: Andreas Schleicher
category: TED Talk
tags:
  - education
---

> PISA’s strength doesn’t lie in telling you what you should do, but in telling you what everyone else is doing.

**Rethink educational testing:** Modern economies do not care what you can memorize; they reward what you can actually _do_ with your knowledge in unpredictable, changing environments.

**Excellence requires equity:** The best-performing nations do not sort or segregate students early on. They operate under the absolute belief that every single child can succeed, shifting focus from “standardization” to “personalized learning.”

**Value teachers over small classes:** High-performing systems systematically invest in higher teacher pay, professional collaboration, and continuous career pathways rather than strictly forcing tiny class sizes at the expense of teacher quality.

**Distribute resources equitably:** Systemic educational success (like Finland’s) is achieved by intentionally sending the strongest school principals and the most talented teachers into the toughest, most socioeconomically disadvantaged classrooms.