This study provides a multidisciplinary approach to understanding the challenge of achieving international educational goals by examining the political, economic, and cultural forces working to expand education globally. I analyze the effect of domestic and global institutions, specifically democracy, global economic integration, and receipt of foreign aid on the expansion of educational attainment for 128 countries from 1960 to 2010. I use random coefficient growth models to find that past levels of education attainment, country wealth, and a growing rural population have significant within-country effects on education attainment expansion. Democratic institutions, integration in the world economy, and country wealth have positive between-country effects on attainment, while population growth and larger rural populations have negative effects. Foreign aid does not have any significant effect on education attainment in developing countries. By synthesizing theoretical frameworks across disciplines, this study provides a rich and nuanced examination of the forces that drive states' expansion of education.