The leadership of the Arabian Gulf nation of Qatar, like that of many other countries, views education as the key to future economic, political, and social progress. Many have concluded that a country's ability to compete in the global economy and enable its citizens to take full advantage of technological advances relies on upgrading the quality of the schooling provided and ensuring that what is taught is aligned with national priorities and international developments. In summer 2001, the State of Qatar's leadership asked the RAND Corporation to examine the K-12 (kindergarten through grade 12) school system in Qatar. This research brief highlights aspects of Phase I (2001-04) of Qatar's K-12 reform initiative, Education for a New Era, based on RAND's experiences in this multi-participant effort to build a world-class standards- and choice-based education system. Key findings include: (1) Qatar's K-12 education system lacked a vision for high-quality education and structures to support it; (2) System reform focused on curriculum standards, new organizational structures, and a clear implementation plan; (3) Critical to the reform was the creation of new, Independent schools based on the principles of autonomy, accountability, variety, and choice; and (4) Since 2002, standards have been developed, almost all students have been tested, and a growing number of Qatar's children have enrolled in learner-centered schools with improved facilities where better-prepared and better-trained teachers guide them in accordance with internationally benchmarked standards. [This research brief describes work done within RAND Education under the auspices of the RAND-Qatar Policy Institute documented in "Education for a New Era: Design and Implementation of K-12 Education Reform in Qatar," by Dominic J. Brewer, Catherine H. Augustine, Gail L. Zellman, Gery Ryan, Charles A. Goldman, Cathleen Stasz, and Louay Constant; 2007, 216 pp.]