Montenegro in the PISA Study

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by jay

Montenegro’s education reform is examined through results from PISA testing in 2006 and 2009, showing that proclaimed goals have not yet been achieved. The study argues that PISA should be treated as strategic guidance for developing the education system, enabling society to invest effectively in young people. It highlights a lack of technical or scientific analysis after 2009 and connects reform needs to teacher training, teaching quality, and broader socioeconomic and EU integration pressures.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages22

Reading Time55 min

AccessFree to download

Introductory analysis

Education reform context

PISA results and reform goals

Need for broader interpretation of PISA

Lack of post-2009 analysis and implications

Identified education system problems

Montenegro in the PISA Study Saša Milić1 • Montenegro, a country that has been in transition for the last two decades, is trying intensively to restructure its socioeconomic system and reform the main social systems, such as the education system, healthcare, the judicial system, the social welfare system, etc. Numerous strategic documents have been adopted in the past decade emphasising the importance of making the country’s abundant natural resources functional, and of making the utilisation of human resources in the country significantly more effective. In order to achieve improvements in one of the key areas of Montenegrin development, human resources, a reform of the entire education system was launched in the first years of 21st century. The processes of joining the European Union, whose fundamental principles are the free movement of people, goods, services and capital, have also significantly increased the need to raise the quality of the education of Montenegro’s citizens and to improve the competitiveness of the Montenegrin workforce in the labour market. However, we believe that the results of PISA testing in 2006 and 2009 suggest that Montenegro is far from the proclaimed goals of reform in the field of education, and that for the coming years and decades considerable attention should be devoted to improvement of the education system. PISA tests should be understood in a much wider context, not only as a reflection of curricular reform and standards of verification and assessment of students’knowledge, but rather as a set of guidelines that indicate the direction in which to develop and improve the education system, so that society can really ‘invest’ in the education of young people. It is a very problematic fact that from the time of testing in 2009 until April 2011, nobody in Montenegro published any technical or scientific analysis of the success, or rather failure, of Montenegrin students in PISA testing. We believe that the use of this study should be significantly increased; not for comparing academic achievements with those of students from other countries, but primarily for improving educational 1 University of Montenegro – Faculty of Philosophy [sasamilic@ac.me](sasamilic@ac.me) policy and defining the strategic orientation of the development of the education system in Montenegro. Therefore, the absence of analysis implies an absence of certain professional activities focused on training teachers and improving the quality of students’ knowledge. Keywords: Achievements, Assessment, Functional knowledge, Improvement, Quality of teaching and learning Introductory analysis Montenegro, as a country that has been in transition for the last two decades, is trying intensively to restructure its socioeconomic system and reform key social systems, such as the education system, the health system, the judicial system, the social welfare system, etc. A number of policy documents adopted in the past decade have highlighted the importance of improving functionality in the country’s natural resources, as well as of making significantly more efficient use of the country’s human resources. In order to improve one of the key elements in the development of Montenegro, human resources, the first years of the 21st century saw the launch of a reform of the entire education system.“With the intention of achieving more dynamic socioeconomic development, the most important factor is to ensure staff who have adequate knowledge and skills. This is an issue of national importance.”(Basis for the Revision of Curricula, 2003, p. 6) . EU integration processes, whose fundamental principles are the free movement of people, goods, services and capital, have also significantly increased the need to raise the quality of citizens’ education and the competitiveness of the Montenegrin workforce in the labour market. However, we believe that the results of PISA testing in 2006 and 2009 indicate that Montenegro is still far from th

FAQs

What do PISA 2006 and 2009 results indicate about Montenegro’s education reform goals?

They suggest Montenegro remains far from the proclaimed objectives of the education reform, requiring sustained attention to improvement over the coming years and decades.

Why should PISA tests be understood beyond curricular reform and student assessment?

They are presented as a set of guidelines indicating the direction to develop and improve the education system so society can meaningfully invest in young people’s education.

What problem is noted regarding publication and analysis after 2009?

From the time of PISA testing in 2009 until April 2011, no one in Montenegro published technical or scientific analysis of students’ success or failure in PISA, implying missing professional activities such as teacher training and efforts to improve students’ knowledge quality.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by jay