Education planning provides the policy maker and the decision maker a logical framework in which to develop and implement education policy. At the international level, education planning is often confounded by both internal and external complexities, making the development of education policy difficult. This research presents a discrete event simulation in which individual students and teachers flow through the system across a variable time horizon. This simulation is then used with advancements in design of experiments, multivariate statistical analysis, and data envelopment analysis, to provide a methodology designed to assist the international education planning community. We propose that this methodology will provide the education planner with insights into the complexity of the education system, the effects of both endogenous and exogenous factors upon the system, and the implications of policies as they pertain to potential futures of the system. We do this recognizing that there are multiple actors and stochastic events in play, which although cannot be accurately forecasted, must be accounted for within the education model. To both test the implementation and usefulness of such a model and to prove its relevance, we chose the Afghan education system as the focal point of this research. The Afghan education system is a complex, real world system with competing actors, dynamic requirements, and ambiguous states. At the time of this writing, Afghanistan is at a pivotal point as a nation, and has been the recipient of a tremendous amount of international support and attention. Finally, Afghanistan is a fragile state, and the proliferation of the current disparity in education across gender, districts, and ethnicity could provide the catalyst to drive the country into hostility. In order to prevent the failure of the current government, it is essential that the education system is able to meet the demands of the Afghan people. This work provides insights into the Afghan education system, to include implications of security, the potential effects of societal issues, and prescriptive policy options. In using the proposed methodology, we provide justification for the future use of larger complex simulations in education planning--especially when said simulation is integrated with efficient design of experiments and data envelopment analysis. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]