TESTS used to test teenagers in reading, maths and science across the world have been labelled "highly suspect" by a Derby teaching union official.
Sue Arguile was commenting as results from the Programme for International Student Assessment showed that the UK is 26th out of the 65 countries involved in the study for maths, 23rd for reeading and 21st for science, behind Shanghai in China and Singapore.
Ms Arguile, secretary of the Derby branch of the National Union of Teachers, which along with other unions is currently locked in a dispute over conditions and pay with Michael Gove, said the Pisa results have always been "highly suspect".
She said: "But Michael Gove will no doubt use the PISA results to justify his attacks on our education system and the teachers within it."
Earlier today, the Secretary of State, Mr Gove, used the opportunity to promote his education policies when reacting in the House of Commons to news that 15-year-old pupils lag behind academically those in the rest of the world.
Mr Gove acknowledged the results showed the UK was still falling behind but said that his current policies on freeing schools from bureacracy, giving head teachers power over decisions in their schools and introducing a more rigorous curriculum.
He said that the 15-year-olds who took the tests at th end of 2012 had only had two years of schooling under the current Coalition government and nine years under Labour before that.
Mr Gove said: "The real test of our reforms will be how we do in a decade's time."
Chris Williamson, MP for Derby North, who was in the House of Commons for Mr Gove's statement, said:
"My view is that Gove's ideological approach to schools and his constant attacks on the teaching profession have undermined our education system and contributed to the disappointing Pisa results.
"But while it is good for us to see what is happening in the rest of the world and to compare ourselves, the Pisa results are just a snapshot and overall there is an improving record in the UK, particularly in Derby."
