CURATED READS FOR GEN Z—AND THEIR Z-CURIOUS COLLEAGUES

first up

Welcome back! This week, we’re issuing a progress report on school systems around the world.

While it’s true that the oldest Gen Zers have graduated from college and started their careers, the youngest in this group are just entering their teen years. Instead of thinking about their work satisfaction, these Zoomers are faced with a different challenge: many are falling behind when preparing for life after the classroom.

Student achievement across the world has stagnated or, in some cases, even declined, according to a new report from McKinsey senior partner Jimmy Sarakatsannis and coauthors. The report examined data from 73 countries and found that over the past decade, only 23 managed to improve student outcomes consistently. Countries where education systems experienced sustained and outsize improvements include Singapore, Estonia, and Poland. In 17 countries, student performance declined, and the remaining 33 countries experienced no improvement. This occurred as education spending increased across countries of all income levels. 

What’s keeping school systems from making their marks? Education leaders reported having trouble meeting their stated goals for a variety of reasons, including conflicting priorities, insufficient coordination, and leadership discontinuity, among others. 

The stakes for improving grade school education are high, not just for Gen Z, Gen Alpha, and beyond, but for older generations. Students who receive a poor education could face challenges in the workplace (particularly as social–emotional skills and new technology become distinguishing factors in the labor market), making their managers’ work more taxing. 

Sarakatsannis and team researched 14 school systems that are beating the odds to figure out what factors are most strongly linked to improving education outcomes. Successful school systems focus first on teachers and the content they want to teach, build coalitions for change, and create structures to give teachers the skills they need to improve student learning. In Singapore, for example, teacher recruitment, development, and retention are top priorities. Teacher candidates are selected from the top 30 percent of their graduating class; once accepted into a teaching program, they must complete 100 hours of professional development each year. 

This is just one part of the puzzle, though. There are seven strategies for transforming education, the report notes, and school systems that use all of them are six times more likely to be successful than those that use four or fewer are. But it’s no easy feat. 

The full report offers other rich insights (for example, education technology and generative AI have mixed results in the classroom so far), so it’s well worth a read. There may be a pop quiz next week!

VISUALIZE IT

Fertility devices, sexual-health products, and period- or fertility-tracking apps are among the most purchased women’s health products.

WAIT, DON’T SCROLL

FYI on OHI. Leadership, a key factor in the Organizational Health Index (OHI), is undergoing a generational transformation. Is your boss getting left behind?

Exec memo. The one thing this newly appointed president of a travel company would change about the industry may surprise you.

Adding it up. Advertising is evolving in innovative new ways to reach the consumers who routinely avoid ads (hi, Gen Z!).

NOT US; STILL GREAT

No role, will scroll. Layoffs, once a taboo topic, are now prime fodder for Gen Zers’ social media posts. [WaPo]

A wrinkle cream in time. Think Gen Z and Gen Alpha beauty-product-buying behavior is something new? Think again. [Business of Fashion]

CROSSWORD

— Edited by Alexandra Mondalek, editor, New York