{"id":35656,"date":"2026-06-08T08:34:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T06:34:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/educationalevidence.com\/?p=35656"},"modified":"2026-06-08T08:37:05","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T06:37:05","slug":"writing-poorly-but-competence-based-the-quiet-success-of-the-lomloe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/educationalevidence.com\/en\/writing-poorly-but-competence-based-the-quiet-success-of-the-lomloe\/","title":{"rendered":"Writing poorly, but competence-based: The quiet success of the LOMLOE"},"content":{"rendered":"

Image created by AI.<\/p>\n

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License Creative Commons <\/a><\/p>\n

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Aurora Trigo Catalina<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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Some educational reforms genuinely seek to improve the system; others, driven more by appearances than by substance, seem chiefly concerned with improving the indicators without altering what actually happens in classrooms. The LOMLOE<\/strong> appears to have chosen the latter path: if pupils are not writing well enough, perhaps the problem is not how they write, but the fact that we continue to measure it through objective indicators.<\/p>\n

For decades, spelling<\/strong> was an uncomfortably measurable variable. In the university entrance examinations of twenty years ago, spelling mistakes carried genuine penalties across all subjects, with no upper limit. In language examinations before 2010, penalties were unlimited, and a student could fail an examination solely because of spelling errors. Writing correctly was not an optional extra; it was a fundamental part of the system<\/strong>, one that also affected subjects such as History and Philosophy. I remember marking examination papers in which an otherwise excellent answer received a lower mark because of spelling mistakes. Today, however, the pendulum has swung to the opposite extreme.<\/p>\n

And it all began in 2010, when a major reform of the university entrance examinations<\/strong> was introduced (known from that year onwards as the PAU). It was then decided that reasoning ability should be valued, not merely memory or spelling. The argument was that a brilliant future engineer or doctor should not be excluded from university because of a handful of misplaced accent marks. That was when the first caps on penalties were introduced, and they have been steadily adjusted ever since.<\/p>\n

As a result, the system for reducing marks has become increasingly sophisticated. In recent PAU examinations, especially since 2025, spelling mistakes have been progressively ignored<\/strong>. In Catalan and Spanish language papers, around 0.1 marks are deducted for each error, up to a maximum of two points. In foreign-language papers, the maximum penalty for poor written expression is one and a half marks. In all other subjects, after some initial hesitation, the direction of travel has become clear: spelling mistakes are either not penalised at all or carry only a minimal penalty, depending on the examiner\u2019s judgement. What matters now is clarity of expression, giving examiners considerable freedom to overlook spelling errors if the content is sound. In subjects such as the one I teach (Economics), spelling simply does not matter. Put bluntly: if the examiner believes you understand what a balance sheet is, it should matter very little whether you spell it correctly or not. It is a masterstroke in damage limitation. Writing correctly has become a secondary detail that no longer blocks students\u2019 access to higher education.<\/p>\n

But what if these changes are not accidental? This is where the competence-based model comes into its own. The LOMLOE proposes replacing knowledge with \u201ccompetences\u201d: a loosely defined set of abilities combining attitudes, skills and values. The problem is that competences are difficult to measure, and pass rates tend to rise<\/em> even when underlying levels of knowledge do not. Spelling is inconvenient precisely because it is so brutally objective. The solution has been elegantly simple: reduce its significance, confine it to a narrow corner of the assessment process and make it disappear wherever it might produce inconvenient evidence.<\/p>\n

The same logic is evident in the gradual hollowing-out of the curriculum. For example, the merging of Physics and Chemistry, or of Biology and Geology, during earlier stages of secondary education, together with the relative reduction of teaching hours in the final years of school, is not merely an organisational whim. It represents a reduction in knowledge that fits neatly into the new system: hours previously devoted to teacher-led science teaching have given way to so-called \u201cLearning Situations\u201d, in which pupils are expected to investigate matters for themselves. Less depth and more cross-curricular learning. Less cumulative knowledge and more competence-based activities, which often consist of \u201creflecting\u201d on things that were previously studied. The educational system we now have has become remarkably efficient at one thing: avoiding clear indicators of failure. The problem does not disappear; it simply shifts elsewhere. And this is where economics comes in.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This pedagogical drift cannot be understood in isolation. Rather, it may be closely aligned with an economic model such as ours, one built largely around the service sector. In this context, prioritising transferable skills over substantive knowledge is not necessarily accidental; it is entirely consistent with the needs of much of the labour market. Spain and Catalonia are, to a large extent, service economies. According to recent data from the Catalan Statistics Institute (Idescat), services account for approximately 69 per cent of GDP in both Catalonia and Spain, with particularly significant contributions from real estate activities, trade, hospitality and transport. We are putting all our eggs into a basket we already know to be full of holes. The problem is not the sector itself, but the fact that it relies heavily on low-productivity activities.<\/p>\n

Comparison of the Economic Structure of Catalonia and Spain (2025 Data)<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Sector \/ Subsector<\/td>\nShare of Total GDP (Catalonia)<\/td>\nShare of Total GDP (Spain)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Services (Total):<\/td>\n68,78%<\/td>\n68,35%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Real Estate, Professional and Other Activities:<\/td>\n32,41%<\/em><\/td>\n30,51%<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Trade, Hospitality and Transport:<\/td>\n22,51%<\/em><\/td>\n22,21%<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Public Administration, Health, Education and Social Services:<\/td>\n12,95%<\/em><\/td>\n15,64%<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Industry:<\/td>\n17,17%<\/td>\n14,23%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Construction:<\/td>\n4,45%<\/td>\n5,34%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Agriculture:<\/td>\n0,87%<\/td>\n2,68%<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

\nSource: Catalan Statistics Institute (Idescat). Annual Economic Accounts of Catalonia. Gross Domestic Product (Output Approach). <\/strong>https:\/\/www.idescat.cat\/pub\/?id=piba&n=10438<\/strong><\/a><\/h6>\n

And this is where the full picture comes into focus: what kind of human capital are our schools actually developing?<\/strong> Writing correctly requires intellectual rigour and a capacity for abstraction, both of which are indispensable in a technology-driven economy.<\/p>\n

The curricular changes appear broadly consistent with a labour market that increasingly demands adaptable workers, often at the expense of deeper specialisation. Yet this educational system leaves future generations intellectually ill-equipped. When we replace knowledge with cross-curricular projects, debates and group work, we deny the economy the tools it needs to foster genuine innovation and remain competitive in high value-added sectors.<\/p>\n

Perhaps, in the end, the question is not whether the LOMLOE is failing. Perhaps the real question is whether it is aligned with a particular economic model<\/strong>. A model in which Spain\u2014with 97 million tourists annually\u2014and Catalonia\u2014with more than 20 million foreign visitors in 2025\u2014will continue to be major global tourism destinations, yet increasingly reliant on a low-paid and relatively low-skilled workforce.<\/p>\n

And this is where the conclusion becomes uncomfortable. It is entirely possible that the education system is evolving in a way that ultimately dovetails with this economic model. Could it be that we prefer an economy built on low-productivity services to one founded on a serious commitment to high-level technological, scientific and industrial development? Could it be that a less demanding education system is simply better suited to an economic structure characterised by lower wages and lower levels of specialisation?<\/p>\n

The problem came into sharp focus in a viral TikTok video recorded at the Education Fair, in which some students were unable to recognise public figures such as Salvador Illa or locate the Pyrenees on a map<\/strong>. Rather than simply provoking laughter, the video raises some uncomfortable questions. It is not merely an anecdote; it is a symptom of an educational system that, by gradually shedding content and academic rigour, leaves students without the intellectual tools needed to make sense of the world. This vacuum is not neutral. A more superficial education not only limits future opportunities but may also leave younger generations more vulnerable to simplistic narratives and the rise of populist movements.<\/p>\n

The reality is that the service sectors in Catalonia and Spain have less capacity for innovation<\/strong> and are more vulnerable to economic downturns and crises. The data from the pandemic illustrate this clearly: tourism collapsed, falling from 83.7 million to 18.9 million visitors in Spain between 2019 and 2020, and from 19.4 million to 3.9 million in Catalonia. The consequences were immediate: GDP contracted by more than 21 per cent in both cases during the second quarter of 2020, the sharpest decline since the Spanish Civil War.<\/p>\n

Which brings me back to the LOMLOE, whose most perverse success has been to make a lack of knowledge in the classroom entirely compatible with the needs of the wider economy. The result is a system that prioritises functionally \u201ccompetent\u201d workers, ostensibly better suited to a service economy heavily reliant on lower value-added activities. It is the ultimate exercise in statistical window-dressing: if the labour market does not demand rigour, why on earth should schools?<\/p>\n

Let us not deceive ourselves: a country that comes to regard spelling as a barrier to becoming an engineer is a country that has, in practice, given up any serious commitment to excellence in innovation. We have prioritised the illusion created by apparently favourable educational statistics<\/strong> over young people\u2019s actual ability to express themselves correctly. We are certainly a tourism powerhouse, but relying exclusively on beaches and sunshine condemns us to an economy characterised by low value-added activities and low wages.<\/p>\n

At heart, the success of this reform is not pedagogical but systemic: it has created a model in which everyone is \u201ccompetent\u201d on paper, even if they cannot locate the Pyrenees on a map or decipher a payslip. It is a system designed to prepare young people for the realities that await many of them in the labour market. Yet this intellectual vacuum has dangerous political consequences: a society deprived of intellectual rigour is far more vulnerable to simplistic narratives and to the rise of populist and far-right movements that thrive precisely on the absence of critical thinking.<\/p>\n

While the authorities congratulate themselves on the growing number of students passing the PAU, the reality facing many young people serves as a reminder that, unless rigour and academic demands are restored to the classroom, we are not simply jeopardising the prosperity of future generations; we are weakening the very foundations of our welfare state<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Source:\u00a0educational EVIDENCE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rights:\u00a0Creative Commons<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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