OECD Report Reveals: Israeli Students Learn More in Overcrowded Classrooms with Lower Achievements

A newly released OECD report paints a complex and troubling picture of the Israeli education system: While Israel ranks among the highest in investment in education and teaching hours, its students continue to study in the most overcrowded classrooms in the developed world, perform poorly on academic assessments, and suffer from one of the highest levels of inequality among students.

According to the data, Israeli primary school classrooms have an average of 27.4 students—roughly 33% more than the OECD average. The situation is worse in middle schools, with 30.1 students per class compared to an international average of 23.

This overcrowding exists despite a relatively favorable student-to-teacher ratio, suggesting inefficient allocation of teaching resources or poor management.

Low Pay, High Turnover: A Crisis Among Teachers

The OECD report highlights a major anomaly: Israeli teachers earn less annually than their counterparts in most OECD countries, even though their hourly wage is relatively high.

According to Prof. Dan Ben-David, President of the Shoresh Institute and Economics Professor at Tel Aviv University, this is partly due to the prevalence of part-time teaching roles in Israel.

The report further reveals a concerning gap between teacher and university faculty salaries: While in most countries the pay gap ranges from 17% to 51%, in Israel it reaches almost 100%.

This disparity, along with the difficult working conditions, contributes to extremely high dropout rates among new teachers: 70%-80% of teachers leave within their first five years on the job.

"There is money, there are teachers, and there are hours," says Prof. Ben-David, "so why are there so many shortages? This question should be directed to the Ministry of Education."

Overburdened: One Teacher for Two Classes

Adding to the strain, the number of teachers managing two classrooms simultaneously has nearly tripled in the past decade—from 117 to 350, according to the Ministry of Education.

One teacher from central Israel reported that she is now teaching 68 sixth-grade students in a single session.

"It's busy and intensive. It's impossible to reach everyone," she shared anonymously.

Early Education: High Enrollment, Low Quality

While Israel leads the OECD in enrollment of children under age three in early childhood education programs (58.2% participation rate), the quality of these programs appears to be substandard.

Dr. Carmel Blank, a senior researcher at the Taub Center and Ruppin Academic Center, explains:

"Despite high participation, there is no correlation in Israel between early enrollment and later academic performance, contrary to global trends. This is a tragedy."

Blank attributes this to a less educated and poorly compensated workforce, high child-to-staff ratios, and limited training, particularly in early childhood education.

She further criticized recent budget cuts, which disproportionately affected staff training and guidance in daycare centers during a period of heightened emotional and psychological needs among young children due to the war.

More Teaching Hours, But With Less Impact

Israeli students receive more school days and teaching hours than their peers in other countries, yet academic performance remains low. This contradiction underscores inefficiencies in how educational resources are utilized.

Government Response: Acknowledgment

Education Minister Yoav Kish responded to the report by acknowledging the issues:

"The OECD report presents a complex but familiar picture... We are leading a joint committee to reexamine the standardization model and reduce class sizes."

Ministry Director-General Meir Shimoni emphasized the need for real classroom impact:

"Financial investment is necessary, but not sufficient. What matters is what happens in the classroom — how many students per teacher, how much support the teacher receives, and how much time they have for each child."

Structural Reforms Needed

While Israel may rank high in education spending, days in school, and teaching hours, the OECD report indicates that without structural reform, much of this investment is ineffective. The real challenge lies not in a lack of resources but in how they are managed, allocated, and translated into meaningful outcomes for students and teachers alike.