The new OECD ambassador, Felix Klein, criticized the underutilization of studies and analyses from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) by German politics. Speaking to the “Rheinische Post,” he stated that he sees “a huge treasure” available to German policymakers at the headquarters in Paris, noting that the 38 member countries bring their experiences together to find shared solutions. Yet, he argued that this compiled knowledge is not being exploited enough in Germany. He highlighted that Germany is currently the largest contributor to the OECD, meaning that this money is being well-invested, but its analyses must be integrated into current reforms.
Regarding the latest Pisa shock, Klein added that while an external perspective can sometimes be painful, it is worth listening to, drawing the correct conclusions, and adjusting policy accordingly. He mentioned that this approach yielded results after the first Pisa results were published in December 2001, which also caused a real shock across the country. According to the most recent study, educational success in Germany remains too strongly dependent on social background. He pointed out that other countries are doing much better because they systematically promoted the linguistic development of children very early on, and Germany should learn from this.
