The OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2025 evaluates what students know and can do in science, reading, mathematics and computational problem-solving, assessing how effectively they can apply their knowledge to real-world challenges. The assessment also explores a range of broader competencies, attitudes and behaviours, including curiosity, perseverance and the use of artificial intelligence. PISA results provide valuable insights into the quality and equity of learning outcomes around the world, enabling educators and policymakers to learn from each other’s policies and practices. This country note provides a country-specific overview of Spain.

Catalonia has built strong foundations for high-quality education, with high participation rates in education, expanding educational attainment, strong digital infrastructure, and sustained commitments to inclusion. Yet, the system also faces growing pressures. Declining student performance, persistent socio-economic disparities, and increasing pressures on the education workforce and system implementation pose important challenges for the future. In a context of economic, demographic, and technological transformation, this report analyses key opportunities and challenges shaping education policy in Catalonia today. Drawing on OECD expertise, international comparisons, quantitative and qualitative evidence, school visits, and extensive stakeholder engagement, it provides an in-depth diagnostic of the education system and identifies practical pathways for improvement. The report explores four interconnected areas of the Catalan education system: equity and inclusion, teachers and school leadership, evaluation and assessment, and governance and funding. It analyses how policy design and implementation can better support student learning, strengthen professional capacity, improve decision making, and respond more effectively to diverse territorial and social needs.

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) has the potential to address a range of goals, yet delivering on the potential of ECEC requires a workforce that is equipped and motivated to meet the unique demands of facilitating young children’s development, learning and well-being. The OECD Starting Strong Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS Starting Strong) focuses on the ECEC workforce. In 2024, ECEC staff and leaders in 17 countries and subnational entities shared insights into a wide range of topics, including their working conditions, professional development opportunities and their work with young children.

The OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) is the world’s largest survey of teachers and principals. In 2024, educators from 55 education systems provided information about what they do and how they are doing. They explain if and how they use artificial intelligence, why they became teachers and if they wish to continue teaching. Governments use data from TALIS to make policies that improve teaching and learning conditions in their schools.

Education at a Glance is the authoritative source of information on the state of education worldwide. It offers comprehensive data on the structure, financing, and performance of education systems across OECD countries and partner economies. This publication features more than 100 charts and tables that present key insights into the output of educational institutions, the impact of learning across countries, access and participation in education, financial investment in education, and the roles of teachers and school organisation. The 2025 edition places a special focus on tertiary education, examining attainment rates, variations in labour market outcomes by field of study, completion rates, and the skills of adults with tertiary qualifications.

The Survey of Adult Skills offers unique insights on adults’ proficiency in literacy, numeracy, and problem solving. These skills are crucial for both personal and societal success, and form the foundation for continuous learning and innovation. In 2022-23, the survey assessed adults aged 16-65 in 31 countries and economies. By comparing results over time and with those of other participating countries and economies, participants can track the skill levels of its adult population, pinpoint barriers to skill development and use, and craft effective policies to address these challenges.

Smaller, more targeted, and more flexible than traditional education and training programmes, micro-credentials have become a prominent feature of education, training and labour market policy discussions in recent years. Several OECD countries have already started the development of national micro-credential ecosystems, and many others are looking to follow suit. This OECD Education Policy Perspective serves as Part B in a two-part series of summary papers. The first publication, Paper A, examined the evolving landscape of micro-credentials, with a particular focus on the development of public policies that can foster effective utilisation of micro-credentials for lifelong learning, upskilling and reskilling. This publication, Paper B, presents case studies from four European Union Member States - Finland, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia and Spain. The document was authored by Roza Gyorfi and Shizuka Kato from the OECD Higher Education Policy Team and Thomas Weko from George Washington University.

This report, linked with the Digital Education Outlook 2023, provides an overview of 29 countries' (or jurisdictions') digital education ecosystem and governance. Each chapter covers the devolution of responsibilities within countries; how it affects digital education; what digital tools for management and teaching and learning are made publicly available to schools, teachers and students; how they are provided or procured; how countries ensure the security, privacy, equity and effectiveness of this digital ecosystem while keeping incentives for private education technology (EdTech) companies. The information and analysis are based on a survey on digital education infrastructure and governance, interviews with national and regional government officials as well as desk-based research. Providing for the first time a holistic view of 29 countries' and jurisdictions' digital education ecosystem and governance, this report will be of interest to policy makers, academics and education stakeholders interested in the digital transformation of education at home and internationally.

The OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) examines what students know in reading, mathematics and science, and what they can do with what they know. It provides the most comprehensive and rigorous international assessment of student learning outcomes to date. Results from PISA indicate the quality and equity of learning outcomes attained around the world, and allow educators and policy makers to learn from the policies and practices applied in other countries. This country note provides a country-specific overview of Spain.

Early school leaving (ESL) can lead to mounting individual challenges and generate high economic costs to education systems and societies at large. Spain has made significant progress in reducing ESL in recent years; in 2022, the ESL rate was 13,9% - almost half the points of a decade earlier. However, noteworthy regional disparities remain, and Spain’s average ESL rate remains one of the highest among OECD and EU member countries. Informed by national and international research evidence and good practices, and by the expert contribution of key education stakeholders, this report identifies existing strengths and challenges to address ESL across Spain. It proposes five areas for action that each include a range of evidence-based and actionable recommendations for a coordinated approach to reducing ESL in all autonomous communities and in the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla.

The OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) is the first international large-scale survey that provides a voice to teachers and school principals, who complete questionnaires about issues such as the professional development they have received; their teaching beliefs and practices; the assessment of their work and the feedback and recognition they receive; and various other school leadership, management and workplace issues. This note presents findings based on the reports of lower secondary teachers and their school leaders in mainstream public and private schools in Spain.

The OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) is the first international large-scale survey that provides a voice to teachers and school principals, who complete questionnaires about issues such as the professional development they have received; their teaching beliefs and practices; the assessment of their work and the feedback and recognition they receive; and various other school leadership, management and workplace issues. This note presents findings based on the reports of lower secondary teachers and their school leaders in mainstream public and private schools in Spain.

This policy profile on education in Spain is part of the Education Policy Outlook series. It aims to provide an update of the education policy landscape in Spain since the publication of the first policy profile for Spain as part of this series in 2014. Building on the OECD's substantial comparative and sectoral knowledge base, the series offers a comparative outlook on education policy by providing analysis of individual countries' educational context, challenges and policies (education policy profiles), analysis of international trends, and insight into policies and reforms on selected topics.

Spain's economy is showing clear signs of recovery, after a protracted recession. Spain's economy returned to growth in 2014 and has started to create jobs in greater numbers. Despite these positive developments significant challenges remain. Spain has amongst the highest unemployment rates in the OECD, for both adults and youth, and the Spanish economy was still smaller, and the income of Spanish people was still lower, in 2014 than it was in 2007. High debt levels inherited from the recent economic crisis, an ageing population and rising spending pressures in other policy areas, such as pensions, will oblige governments to make tough choices and make efficiency and effectiveness a cornerstone of policy design. While the future is by definition uncertain, all signs point to a world in which higher levels of skills will be increasingly critical for people's success in the economy and society. Skills are central to meeting the challenges of today and tomorrow. Skills improvements are an important driver of employment, productivity, economic growth, and higher living standards. Fostering better and more equitable skills outcomes also provides the foundation for building a healthier, more equitable, and more cohesive society.

This policy profile on education in Spain is part of the Education Policy Outlook series, which presents comparative analysis of education policies and reforms across OECD countries. Designed for policy makers, analysts and practitioners who seek information and analysis of education policy taking into account the importance of national context, the country policy profiles offer constructive analysis of education policy in a comparative format. Each profile reviews the current context and situation of the country's education system and examine its challenges and policy responses, according to six policy levers that support improvement: students (how to raise outcomes for all in terms of 1- equity and quality and 2- preparing students for the future), institutions (how to raise quality through 3- school improvement and 4- evaluation and assessment), education system (how the system is organised to deliver education policy in terms of 5- governance and 6- funding).

This commentary on Spain is one of a series of country reports on vocational education and training (VET) in OECD countries, prepared as part of the Skills beyond School study. The series includes reviews, involving an in-depth analysis of a country system leading to a set of policy recommendations backed by analysis. The commentaries are simpler exercises than full reviews, largely descriptive but also including an assessment of strengths and challenges in the country system. The commentaries are designed to be of value as free-standing reports, but are also prepared so that they can become the first phase of a full review.

This book describes the Canary Islands, Spain school system and sheds light on PISA results for the Canary Islands. It includes analyses of the policy implications in the domains of system management and resource distribution, students and learning, teachers and teaching, and school leadership and inspections. The report also provides recommendations for raising quality and equity in learning outcomes.

This spotlight report draws upon the OECD report Equity and Quality in Education: Supporting Disadvantaged Students and Schools. The first section reproduces the executive summary of the report. The second section presents a snapshot of some variables on equity in education and school failure in Spain based on the indicators used in the comparative report. It also outlines some recent policy developments and suggested policy options for Spain, which are also informed by the Country Background Report prepared by Spain.

As part of the OECD review on migrant education, countries were invited to provide information on their national migrant education policies. Note that this information is in addition to the full country background reports provided by the six countries participating in the policy review: Austria, Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. The attached information was provided by Spain using a standard international questionnaire on migrant education policies in response to longstanding diversity.

This Country Note on Spain forms part of the OECD Thematic Review of Tertiary Education. This is a collaborative project to assist the design and implementation of tertiary education policies which contribute to the realisation of social and economic objectives of countries.
The principal objective of the review is to assist countries to understand how the organisation, management and delivery of tertiary education can help them to achieve their economic and social objectives. The focus of the review is upon tertiary education policies and systems, rather than upon the detailed management and operation of institutions, although clearly the effectiveness of the latter is influenced by the former.

The report provides an overview of school leadership developments and issues in Spain, as a contribution to the OECD's Improving School Leadership Activity. It discusses the national context of schooling, the features of the school system, school governance and leardership, the attractiveness of school leaders' roles, and professional learning of school leaders in the country.

This background report on Spain explains the range of challenges and policy approaches to addressing adult basic skill needs in Spain. It includes descriptions of : The nature and scale of the challenges Spain faces in regard to adult basic skills education, any major national or regional programmes or policies developed to meet the needs of adults with low basic skill needs, profiles of instructors, gaps in provision and take up, assessment policies/structures including qualification examinations, programme participation and performance targets, and the art of formative assessment in adult basic skills education.

The Country Note reflects the previously written Country Background Report and offers an analysis and some proposals relating to a set of issues identified by the review team during their visit as critical forimproving teacher policies in Spain. These priority issues provide the structure of this report: The further strengthening of the education and professional development of teachers, the importance of improving the selection and recruiting system to ensure that those with the necessary knowledge, skills and competencies become teachers, the value of enriching the teaching career to offer incentives for professional development and growth, the further alignment of the Spanish system among its different levels to more effectively manage and develop the teaching workforce, and the educational and professional challenges posed by the growing diversity of the Spanish student population.

The main purpose of the thematic review on adult learning is to understand adults' access and participation in education and training and to enhance policies and approaches to increase incentives for adults to undertake learning activities in OECD countries. It is a joint activity undertaken by the OECD Education Committee (EDC) and the Employment, Labour and Social Affairs Committee (ELSAC) in response to the need to make lifelong learning a reality for all, to improve learning opportunities of low skilled and disadvantaged adults and to sustain and increase employability.