Marc Tucker was president of the National Center on Education and the Economy. For two decades, his research focused on the policies and practices of the countries with the best education systems. This blog is no longer being updated.
Assessment
Opinion
Teachers Scoring Tests: Part of Professional Teacher's Work?
How the widespread use of cheap, multiple-choice tests in the United States prevents teachers from benefiting from one of the best forms of professional development in the field.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Annual Accountability Testing: Time for the Civil Rights Community to Reconsider
Why are civil rights groups fighting so hard for annual accountability testing when there is no evidence that it helps poor and minority students?
College & Workforce Readiness
Opinion
Dramatic Improvement in Education Systems: What It Takes
As other nations have before, the U.S. faces a stark choice between transforming its education system to deliver broadly-shared prosperity or continuing on its current path of growing income inequality, poverty and political instability.
Equity & Diversity
Opinion
Lesson From Freddie Gray: It Isn't the Money
In the search for answers and understanding in the wake of the death of Freddie Gray and the resulting riots, how can educators and school leaders foster hope and give students in challenged communities a better future?
College & Workforce Readiness
Opinion
Making Graduation Meaningful: A Real Qualifications System for U.S. Students
The U.S. high school diploma is too often little more than an attendance certificate. Creating a real qualifications system would empower students, give them the skills to compete in the global economy and make our education system more equitable.
Standards & Accountability
Opinion
How Should We Gauge Student Success? The Accountability Dilemma
High achievement in reading, writing, mathematics, science and problem solving is essential. But our goals for educating young people should include much, much more than just raising test scores in these areas.
Teacher Preparation
Opinion
Why Have American Education Standards Collapsed?
How a broad range of factors have led to an across-the-board decline of standards in American education over the last 45 years.
Assessment
Opinion
Are We Just Fooling Ourselves? Is American Education a Colossal Failure?
The United States once led the world in educational attainment, but that is no longer the case. So, how did we get here?
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Estonia's Education System: Full of Promise, Facing Challenges
Do high PISA scores mask a serious threat to Estonia's education progress?
Education
Opinion
Estonia: The Next Finland?
How Estonia's rise to the top of the league tables for student achievement is the result of a strong history of placing a high value on education, like its northern neighbor Finland.
Education
Opinion
The Swiss Vocational Education and Training System: A Gold Standard
In the latest report from NCEE's Center on International Education Benchmarking, Nancy Hoffman and Bob Schwartz shed new light on why the Swiss vocational education and training system is a world leader and what the U.S. can learn from it.
Education
Opinion
Why Is Achievement Rising in Some Countries, Going Down in Others?
Australian education expert Geoff Masters looks at the reforms that have boosted student performance in the world's rapidly improving education systems and finds that they do not use market-based strategies, but instead focus on developing strong teachers and school leaders throughout the entire school system.
College & Workforce Readiness
Opinion
Vocational Education & Training and the Chinese Economy: Driver or Obstacle?
In the latest report from the Center on International Education Benchmarking, written by Asia Society's Vivien Stewart, we find that China's hopes of transitioning to a high-skill, high-wage economy will hinge on its ability to scale-up and modernize its vocational education and training system.
Federal
Opinion
Flawed Thinking: Why NCLB Failed to Produce Equity and High Quality
In remarks from a Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education (SCOPE) panel discussion, I explain why NCLB was the result of a federal government too consumed with demanding accountablity for its investment and not sufficiently focused on improving student achievement.