Romania's current education reform agenda marks the country's most ambitious effort to modernise its education and skills system since the post-democratic transition. Backed by significant investments, the reforms aim to raise quality, expand access, and equip learners with the skills needed to thrive in a changing economy. This push for change comes at a critical juncture. Despite strong economic performance, urban-rural disparities in living standards are widening, labour force participation remains low among youth, women and Roma, and informal employment is high. Improving educational outcomes through more effective policies and practices will be essential to placing Romania on a more sustainable and inclusive growth path. This report assesses Romania's policies and practices against those of OECD and reference countries in Central and Eastern Europe, covering the full learning lifecycle-from early childhood education and care to lifelong learning. It identifies the system's major strengths and challenges and explores how Romania can draw on OECD evidence and international experience to advance its education reform agenda. The report will be of interest in Romania, as well as in other countries looking to raise the quality, equity and efficiency of their education systems.

Education at a Glance is the authoritative source for information on the state of education around the world. It provides data on the structure, finances and performance of education systems across OECD countries and a number of accession and partner countries. More than 100 charts and tables in this publication - as well as links to much more available on the educational database - provide key information on the output of educational institutions; the impact of learning across countries; access, participation and progression in education; the financial resources invested in education; and teachers, the learning environment and the organisation of schools. This country note provides a country-specific overview of Romania.

Romania's education system is at a turning point. In 2023, the government passed a new law on school education that sets out significant changes to how schooling is provided, governed and resourced. These changes come at a critical time for the country's development. While Romania is one of Europe's fastest-growing economies, its education outcomes remain among the lowest in the European Union. The measures in the new law are crucial for ensuring quality education, fostering economic growth and enhancing inclusivity. This policy perspective offers recommendations on how to take forward planned reforms. It focuses on four specific sets of policies that will be instrumental in improving school quality and equity: school evaluation and support; resources for education; the teaching profession; and the data and monitoring system. At the centre of these are proposals to make teaching a highly skilled and rewarding profession by better connecting performance, promotion and pay, and progressively strengthening schools' pedagogical leadership through developmental school evaluations and support. At a strategic level, Romania will need a step change in how education policies are funded and evaluated. This implies more strategic planning and budgeting to align resources with long-term policy priorities, and much-expanded analytical capacities to monitor and evaluate implementation and outcomes and hold institutions accountable.

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 Romania.

Countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia have clear aspirations to strengthen civic participation and increase prosperity for all. A highly skilled and knowledgeable population is critical to achieving these goals, which makes creating and maintaining high quality and equitable education systems a vital part of regional development efforts. Results from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) show that learning outcomes in the region have generally improved, but that the improvement has not been equitable. While countries in the region are producing some of the top performing students in the world, many other students are being left behind. This report, jointly developed by OECD and UNICEF, analyses PISA data in detail to identify the strengths, challenges and unique features of education systems in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Drawing upon a rich knowledge base of education policy and practice in the region, it makes recommendations about how systems in the region can provide an excellent education for all students. This report will be of interest to regional policy-makers as well as individuals who wish to learn more about education in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Romania, Türkiye and Ukraine).

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 Romania.

Romania is one of the few countries in the OECD and EU lacking national teaching standards. This education policy brief shares examples of how clearly defined teacher competency standards can help shape initial teacher education and professional development programmes to focus on pedagogical practices, which are historically weak in Romania, as in much of Eastern Europe. The brief also identifies the advantages and opportunities of restructuring Romania's current teacher management system to help teachers grow professionally throughout their careers.

School leaders in Romania primarily consider their function to be purely administrative, rather than having responsibilities for shaping the quality of teaching and learning. This education policy brief highlights how other countries and economies have developed effective school leaders by clearly defining professional standards and introducing stronger initial selection and preparation processes. The brief also provides examples of how practical learning experiences in specific areas related to school leaders' daily work can have a positive impact on the professional development of Romanian school leaders.

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) attendance in Romania has increased in recent decades but remains below national goals and EU averages. This education policy brief aims to support Romania's efforts to improve the access and quality of ECEC services. To do this, Romania will need to increase ECEC expenditure, address participation barriers and offer more flexible service provision. Efforts to improve the quality of ECEC services might include, among other things, ensuring continuity in learning and development across the full age range of ECEC curricula.

Despite improvements in recent years, many students in Romania still progress through school without mastering basic competencies and a large share of them leave school before completing upper secondary education. This education policy brief focuses on policies that can support Romania in ensuring that all students participate in and complete education – particularly those from disadvantaged groups. In particular, this brief focuses on improving functional literacy, reducing early school leaving and helping early school leavers return to education.

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 Romania.

Romania's education system has made impressive strides over the past two decades, with an increasing share of students mastering the basic competencies that they need for life and work. But these average improvements mask significant disparities in learning outcomes and attainment, with an increasing share of students leaving education early without basic skills. This review, developed in cooperation with UNICEF, provides Romania with recommendations to help strengthen its evaluation and assessment system, by reducing the weight of high stake examinations and creating more space for the formative discussions and feedback that are integral to improving learning and teaching. It will be of interest to Romania, as well as other countries looking to make more effective use of their evaluation and assessment system to improve quality and equity, and result in better outcomes for all students.

This commentary on Romania 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.

Educational work is a key element for both human capital formation and the promotion of peace and democratic values. It has therefore been identified as one of the priorities of the Stability Pact. The OECD was asked to be Co-ordinator for "General Education Policy and System Change" within the Education and Youth Task Force, and to carry out "Thematic Reviews of Education Policy" in the countries of the region. The main outcome of this project is a series of reports which provide both country overviews and a regional overview. These reports offer an analysis of the education system and address issues and barriers to reform and recommendations. The recommendations are designed to be of use for national policy-makers and to assist Stability Pact partner countries and institutions target regional assistance in order to achieve the goal of supporting South Eastern Europe towards European integration. These reports are part of the OECD's ongoing co-operation with non-member economies around the world.

Reform of education, training and human resource development is an integral part of the transition to a democratic society and market economy. Romania has made progress in all these areas since reform began in 1990. Still, the real impetus for change is more recent and can be dated to the publication of The Reform of Education Now by the Ministry of National Education in 1997. The Ministry's challenge has been to promote and support changes that meet the needs of the new economy and society as well as the interests of all young people and adults, in the face of a shortage of financial and human resources. The book first gives a brief history of education in Romania and describes the development of education in the country since the political changes. It then presents an analysis of the entire education system and identifies key directions for the reinforcement of the reforms in light of the challenges faced by officials, communities, enterprises, educators, parents and students under very dynamic and uncertain conditions. It concludes with a set of key recommendations on education goals and the transition; learning effectiveness, outcomes and the curriculum; management and governance for flexibility, responsiveness and change; and resources and financing. This review will be very useful to both Romanian professionals and their international counterparts.