Post-PISA Education Reforms in China: Policy Response Beyond the Digital Governance of PISA

Oct 15, 2026

This study analyzes Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) data to show how the test reflects China’s educational problems and the effects of digital governance. Using text analysis of China-related education materials, including PISA results and OECD analytical reports since 2009, the study identifies key issues such as student overburden, emphasis on knowledge acquisition, and prevalence of extracurricular tutoring. Findings indicate reforms after PISA go beyond digital governance, grounded in China’s cultural context.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages14

Reading Time35 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Purpose

Design/Approach/Methods

Findings

Background

What PISA is and why it matters

China’s participation and performance

Digital governance and global education policymaking

Post-PISA Education Reforms in China: Policy Response Beyond the Digital Governance of PISA Wenjie Yang Institute of Schooling Reform and Development, East China Normal University Guorui Fan Institute of Education Governance, East China Normal University ECNU Review of Education 2019, Vol. 2(3) 297–310 ª The Author(s) 2019 Article reuse guidelines: [sagepub.com/journals-permissions](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[ ](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[DOI: 10.1177/2096531119878557](DOI: 10.1177/2096531119878557)[ ](DOI: 10.1177/2096531119878557)[journals.sagepub.com/home/roe](journals.sagepub.com/home/roe) Abstract Purpose: This study analyzes the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) data, revealing that the test itself reflects China’s educational problems as well as the resultant effect of digital governance. Examining the root cause of these problems, this study demonstrates that the education reforms implemented in response to the PISA have gone beyond digital governance. Design/Approach/Methods: This study conducts a text analysis of materials related to China’s education system, including PISA data and analytical reports published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development since 2009. Findings: Reflected by PISA data, the main problems facing China’s educational sector include the overburdening of students at school, emphasis on knowledge acquisition during the teaching process, and the prevalence of extracurricular tuition. The digital governance effect triggered by PISA is highly consistent with China’s constant and excessive pursuit of efficiency, emphasis on scores, and the rate of students entering higher level schools. In the new era, China actively reflected on the disadvantages of digital governance before implementing a series of education reforms that go beyond it. Corresponding author: Guorui Fan, Institute of Education Governance, East China Normal University, 3663 N. Zhongshan Rd, Shanghai 200062, China. Email: [grfan@ecnu.edu.cn](grfan@ecnu.edu.cn) Creative Commons Non Commercial CC BY-NC: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License ([http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/](http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages ([https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage](https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage)). Originality/Value: This study is based on China’s cultural background and the latest contexts. It examines the impact of the large-scale international assessment on China’s education governance and discusses the impact of digital governance on the education reforms in other countries. The implementation of China’s post-PISA education reforms demonstrates that different countries can implement rational education reforms based on their own cultural traditions and social realities as well as by referencing and using PISA data with care and prudence. Keywords China, digital governance, education policy, education reforms, PISA Date received: 10 July 2019; accepted: 6 September 2019 Background Developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is an international test assessing the knowledge and skills that 15-year-old students should master in order to engage with society. The program has had a wide and profound impact on major countries around the world. With PISA’s global influence, the OECD has become the “arbitrator of global education governance”(Meyer & Benavot, 2013, p. 9) . The design concept of the PISA indicates that it connects various key factors to ensure comprehensive analysis, including students’ test scores, their personal characteristics, and fac

FAQs

What is the purpose of analyzing PISA data in this study?

To reveal that PISA reflects China’s educational problems and the resultant effect of digital governance, and to examine why education reforms implemented in response to PISA go beyond digital governance.

What major problems in China’s education sector are reflected by the PISA data?

Student overburdening at school, emphasis on knowledge acquisition during teaching, and the prevalence of extracurricular tuition.

How does the study characterize China’s education reforms in the new era?

It argues that China actively reflected on disadvantages of digital governance before implementing a series of reforms that go beyond digital governance.

Oct 15, 2026

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