Typical comparisons of schools in the United States to those in other countries ignore critical factors and overlook potential lessons learned. But here's a book that reveals what the best schools from around the world are doing to educate students for a rapidly changing innovation-based world. Find out that American education has not "gotten worse," how other countries are rapidly improving, and what all educators can learn from these breakthrough new educational approaches. Surveying the policies and assessment results from multiple countries around the globe, Vivien Stewart brings you up- to- date on: (1) How the U.S. education system fares against emerging international standards of excellence; (2) Major global trends that are transforming the skills students need and changing the shape of the global talent pool; (3) The policies and practices of the world's best-performing education systems; (4) Common success factors that cut across these high-performing systems; and (5) Lessons that these high-performing systems hold for the United States. Find out how careful policy choice and effective implementation are advancing best practices in critical areas such as 21st century teaching, leadership, and technology, and are successfully modernizing curriculum, instruction, and assessment. What the world's best school systems show is that substantial improvement is possible, that excellence and equity are attainable, and that there are lots more evidenced-based options than you've been told.