Israel's Education System Faces Global Challenges Despite High Spending

A new OECD report reveals significant challenges within Israel's education system, despite substantial investment. While Israel excels in early childhood education, with mandatory schooling starting at age three and high participation rates for toddlers in learning, the system struggles with overcrowded classrooms, fewer school days, and low teacher salaries, leading to high attrition rates.

In 2024, Israeli elementary and middle school classrooms were significantly more crowded than the OECD average. Elementary classes averaged 27.2 students compared to the OECD average of 20.6, and middle school classes had 30.0 students versus the OECD average of 22.7. This places Israel among the highest in student-to-classroom ratios globally.

Furthermore, Israel has one of the lowest numbers of instructional days among OECD countries. While teachers in elementary schools teach more hours annually than the OECD average (844 versus 770), high school teachers teach fewer hours (595 versus 678). A significant portion of teachers, between 73% and 86%, leave the profession within their first five years, a rate that ranks Israel third and sixth globally for teacher departures in different educational stages.

Teacher salaries in Israel are also lower than the developed country average, by 9% in elementary and middle school and 7% in high school. Despite these issues, Israel spends a considerable percentage of its GDP on education, ranking fourth among OECD countries in spending on early childhood and primary to high school education. The country also boasts a high percentage of individuals with higher education degrees, exceeding the OECD average.