If there is one thing that describes the trajectory of American education, it is this: more high-stakes testing. In the United States, the debates surrounding this trajectory can be so fierce that it feels like we are in uncharted waters. As Christopher Bjork reminds us in this study, however, we are not the first to make testing so central to…

In this paper, the author asks what education policy might look like in the United States if it was based on the experience of its most successful competitors. He relies on research conducted by a team assembled by the National Center on Education and the Economy, at the request of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD),…

More than 20 years ago, A Nation At Risk warned that "a rising tide of mediocrity" threatened the U.S. education system and that the United States would be unable to effectively compete with other economies because of a scarcity of graduates in science and technology. In 2001, No Child Left Behind reiterated that message, pushing through…

The design, management, and effectiveness of systems of higher education are examined in 12 countries: Australia, Canada, the Federal Republic of Germany, France, Iran, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Sweden, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Previous reports have been published by ICED on each country, upon which this report is based.…

These papers reflect the impact that early childhood teachers have on their students when they "stand in front of the classroom" and the effect their performance and characteristics have on children. After "Introduction: Factors that Impact Teacher Quality" (Olivia N. Saracho and Bernard Spodek), 11 papers include: (1)…