The Editor’s Note

Abstract

Two politicians from different parties and perspectives looked at some of the highest performing countries and regions for answers to their dominance on international educational exams and came to similar conclusions. Uniformity and consistency were among the underlying themes. Shanghai, Finland, Singapore, and Ontario have strong education systems because they set out their strategies and goals and they hew to them over decades, rather than moving from reform to reform in the U.S. Also, their selection and preparation of teachers is more rigorous. While such a centralized approach clearly works in those countries and regions, it would be problematic in the U.S., which values local control of education to a much greater extent.