Pisa Test

When schooling starts for poor children at kindergarten or first grade they have already missed out on vital opportunities to develop skills needed to help them thrive academically, socially, physically and emotionally in their early years of learning.

How does Singapore view the importance of a world-class teaching profession? How has its government responded? What progress has been made to date? What are Singapore's next steps to advance the teaching profession in the 21st century?

The International Baccalaureate (the IB) continues to play an important role in changing the lives of students worldwide. Apart from PISA, it is the only test that measures the performance of students against their global peers.

Today, with the help of Kirsten Sivesind, and Principal Bjorn Bolstad, the faculty and students of the Ringstabekk Skole in Barum, a suburb of Oslo, we can gain education insights into how a model Norwegian public school is addressing skills needed in the 21st century.

The co-founders of BASIS Schools, Michael and Olga Block, aimed to offer the type of education students receive in the top performing education systems around the world; the type of education that would help American students compete in the global economy.

The impact of poverty is significant in the outcomes of children in America's education system. So what should we be doing to support the approximate 20 percent of U.S. school children who live in poverty?

If you thought you knew everything about the remarkable transformation of Finland's schools from mediocre to one of the top performing school systems in the world, think again.

Michael Fullan has been working to identify the right drivers for whole system education reform. His paper, "Choosing the Wrong Drivers for Whole System Reform," has stimulated considerable interest from educators around the world.

"On the face of it, the two systems are at least a century apart and may have nothing to learn from each other."

Governments need to invest in education. Better educated people are less likely to need unemployment benefits or welfare assistance, and pay more tax when they enter the job market.

This week in The Global Search for Education, Charles Ungerleider discusses our big picture questions and shares his views on how to nurture and support a successful education system.

Change is painful. Change takes time. Change is trial and error.

Let us speak of even greater things with the innovative educator and president of Bard College, Leon Botstein: a man who understands the juxtaposition of art and education better than any.

How does a country which values its sports so highly, like New Zealand, support and nurture its younger fans and players in their equally important educational paths? Dr. Rosemary Hipkins of New Zealand's Council for Educational Research has the answers.

The definition of educational excellence in Norway: a comprehensive curriculum, much like in Finland, where the student becomes both cultivated and qualified. Joy and hard work must go hand in hand.

What makes a teacher good enough to create an effective learning environment? More education? More professional experience outside the classroom? More ability to connect with kids?

"Our problems right now in India are different to those of more developed nations. India has a poor education system. However, our society values education more than anything."

Australia is on the Move! Professor Barry McGaw, Chair of the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), has a brand new national curriculum to explain.

Controversial education reformer Michelle Rhee sat down with AOL to discuss the state of America's public schools and how her organization StudentsFir...

Educational excellence is about knowledge and skill, but it is also about the socialization of the individual, about cultivating students to have active learning interests for the rest of their lives.

The performance of U.S. students in the 2009 PISA was poor, especially when you consider that the U.S. has the biggest global economy and is among the top 10 countries in standards of living.

American educators and policy makers are trying to figure out how we, as a highly developed nation, can improve our education systems so that America can stay at the top in a rapidly changing world.

The few times that Huan Kiat Koh came home with poor grades when he was growing up in Singapore, he vividly remembers his mother's response. "She wou...

This is only the beginning of what must be a serious effort to end the endless reliance on test scores, nationally and internationally, and focus on the needs of the workplace in the future.