In a change from the usual comments about Education and Covid, we are sharing this McKinsey article on how Australia set out in 2018 to make their education system world-class by 2028. This project, with its goal to improve schools, “leveraged student and school data to develop differentiated improvement strategies” creating an improvement-planning tool kit for schools, which also “used best-practice change management for communication and to set high expectations”. Lofty ideals indeed, but interestingly they approached their educational institutions with a very business-minded approach, analysing data but also going beyond this in order to see “performance metrics based on both the learning achievement of every child and the change in that learning achievement over time”. The programme also gave school leaders a co-developed dashboard with key performance metrics (literacy, numeracy, year-12 completion and achievement, organisational health indicators etc.).  Part of the success of this approach – which is uncommon – is that they listened to all stakeholders and took on board many views and inputs. A great project that is still ongoing. Best of all now “parents (are) more engaged in their kids’ learning”. A fundamental goal we push with our own educational solutions: ask us how.

https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/public-and-social-sector/our-insights/improving-schools-reflections-from-education-leaders-in-south-australia