Drivers of student performance: Middle East and North Africa insights

Using the PISA data set, McKinsey consultancy has created five regional reports that consider what drives student performance. In the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), six countries participated in the 2015 PISA: two members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (the United Arab Emirates and Qatar), two countries from North Africa (Algeria and Tunisia), and two countries from the Levant (Jordan and Lebanon). On the whole, MENA’s PISA scores lag behind not only the OECD average but also behind other countries at a similar economic level. This report examines five specific factors found to be particularly important to student outcomes: mindsets, teaching practices, information technology, hours of instruction, and early childhood education.