In the twenty-first century, the use of standardized tests as the primary means to evaluate schools and teachers in the United States has contributed to severe dilemmas, including misleading information on what students know, lower-level instruction, cheating, less collaboration, unfair treatment of teachers, and biased teaching. This article…

Almost all of the most recent school improvement strategies have focused on standards and accountability. But test data from assessments such as the National Assessment of Educational Progress indicate that such emphasis has had little impact on student achievement. Drawing from extensive research across national settings, Andy Hargreaves and…

A brief review of the decisions and plans made in educational policy on the following levels of Finland's educational system: Preschool (nursery school and kindergarten), basic level (comprehensive school), middle level (vocational school and senior secondary), and high level (universities and other institutes of higher education). (SH)