This paper reviews evidence on the interplay between professional standards for teachers, the content of teacher education and educational sciences, and provides three case studies to illustrate these interactions from Estonia, Australia and Singapore. In particular, it investigates what aligning teacher education programmes to standards really…

This capstone examines the National Center on Education and the Economy's (NCEE) efforts in its initial planning stage to lead the design of and build support for a proposed national system of teacher career ladders. In this career ladder system, teachers can voluntarily seek advanced certification leading up to the role of Master Teacher, and…

As states struggle with the notion of international competitiveness, the quality and rigor of academic content standards has come into question. While Ohio's content standards are well regarded, the state initiated a process to revise the standards and eventually joined with the majority of states in adopting a voluntary set of national…

Since its independence in 1965, the Singapore government has been giving priority to preserve racial harmony and social stability. A wide range of policy initiatives, including conscription for national defence, ethnic integration policy for public housing, and the National Education (NE) programme in tandem with a strong emphasis on local history…

In the study reported here, the authors examined the LEs (learning expectations) related to Grades 1 to 8 number and quantity in mathematics across several US states and high performing TIMSS (Third International Mathematics and Science Study) Asian countries, including Singapore, Taiwan and Japan. The general strategy used is based on the topic…

Achieve, through support from the Noyce Foundation, examined ten sets of international standards with the intent of informing the development of both the conceptual framework and Next Generation Science Standards. Achieve selected countries based on their strong performance on international assessments and/or their economic, political, or cultural…

Several comprehensive information literacy (IL) standards have been developed worldwide for use in the education sector, specifically for students and teachers. Apart from the more generic International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) IL standards, such standards are more appropriate for their countries of origins. If these standards are…

In response to concerns over the need for a scientifically literate workforce, increasing the STEM pipeline, and aging science standards documents, the scientific and science education communities are embarking on the development of a new conceptual framework for science, led by the National Research Council (NRC), and aligned next generation…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) "The High Cost of High School Dropouts": New Alliance Brief Says Dropouts from the Class of 2009 Represent…

This appendix accompanies the report "Taking the Lead in Science Education: Forging Next-Generation Science Standards. International Science Benchmarking Report," a study conducted by Achieve to compare the science standards of 10 countries. This appendix includes the following: (1) PISA and TIMSS Assessment Rankings; (2) Courses and…

Whether to adopt national standards and tests has long been a subject of lively debate in the United States. With 47 states now participating in the Common Core State Standards Initiative, and a commitment from Education Secretary Arne Duncan to allocate hundreds of millions in stimulus funds to the development of common tests, the country is…

After World War II the Singapore government, wishing to blend the island's several ethnic communities into a national whole, endeavored to replace Chinese schools, which imparted students with cultural-linguistic traits sharply different from those promoted in other schools. This policy, nevertheless, elicited tough resistance from Singapore's…

When Singapore underwent decolonization after World War II, its government--keen on constructing a Singapore-centered identity--sought to replace Chinese schools, which taught a China-centered worldview. This attempt provoked tough resistance from the local Chinese. Succumbing to this pressure, the ruling regime accommodated Chinese schools as…