Denmark’s record-low PISA results trigger debate over parents’ role

Denmark’s record-low results in the international PISA assessment have prompted politicians, researchers and school leaders to question whether parents are doing enough to support schools, DR reports. Others, however, warn against blaming parents and point to years of pressure on schools and children.

The results show Danish 15-year-olds at a historic low in mathematics, reading and science. Possible explanations raised in the debate include screen use, school reforms, teacher shortages and artificial intelligence.

At a government press conference, Pia Olsen Dyhr said respect for teachers needed to return among both children and parents. Moderates leader Lars Løkke Rasmussen also criticised parents who, he said, believed they knew more than teachers and showed too little respect for professional expertise.

Dorte Andreas, chair of the Danish Association of School Leaders, said the organisation did not want to engage in “parent bashing”, but argued that parents still had a responsibility to support the school community.

“We can experience that parents are not interested in the school. They expect a service shop, and that is not what the school is. It is an educational institution,” Andreas said.

She said parents too often kept children at home when they complained of minor ailments, such as a sore throat. Sometimes, she added, the children arrived at school and it became clear that the sore throat was not as serious as they had claimed.

Christian Christrup Kjeldsen, a lecturer at the Danish School of Education, described a group of highly engaged parents who demand special consideration for their children but do not provide enough support for their learning.

Since 2022, there has been a decline in the share of students whose parents ask about their learning and show interest in what happens during the school day, Kjeldsen said. He also pointed to greater individualisation and growing expectations that schools should handle both teaching and upbringing.

Parents should support the school and give teachers the authority they need to manage the classroom, Kjeldsen said.

Regitze Spenner Ishøy, national chair of the organisation Skole og Forældre, which represents school boards and parents of children in primary schools, rejected the idea that parents should be made scapegoats.

“The most important thing we can do right now is not to start pointing out scapegoats,” she said. In her view, the results reflect years of pressure on schools and childcare institutions, which is now affecting children.

Ishøy said children and young people were also under intense pressure from decades of performance management in schools, national tests and examinations, as well as expectations of achieving high grades and moving quickly on to further education.

What is PISA?

PISA is a large international assessment conducted every three years. It tests 15-year-old students in mathematics, reading and science, while also asking about their background, wellbeing and school environment.

In Denmark, 6,200 students from 283 schools and educational institutions took part. They came from primary schools and upper-secondary institutions, both public and private. The students completed the assessment last year, but the results were published only now. The assessment was first conducted in 2000.