The simmering row over Spanish-language teaching in Catalan schools
Now fuelled by a poor result in the latest PISA educational tests
WHEN THE PISA worldwide educational comparisons came out late in 2023, most countries fell to wondering how to do better. In Catalonia the results were seen through the lenses of nationalism and language—as everything is. Spain had lost ground since the last time the tests were done, in 2018. But students in Catalonia lost even more, and native Spanish-speakers did worse than Catalan-speakers to boot—a failing critics were quick to pin on language policy.
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This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Get them while they’re young”
From the January 6th 2024 edition
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