The PISA studies in recent years have disclosed fundamental problems in the educational and training systems of many countries. According to the studies, it seems that simply increasing the education expenditures per pupil regularly does not sufficiently achieve better pupil performances. This "input-oriented" policy does not have any direct effect on the "output" in the form of better results by the pupils. Therefore, it is the objective of this essay to analyze the framework conditions in which an education system can develop optimally so that the pupils achieve better grades and/or performance at schools. We focus our analysis on the "institutional factors" such as "competition in the school system," "school autonomy," "responsibility," as well as a suitable combination of these factors. The research results of international empirical studies discussed in this paper provide a range of approaches and proposals that governments could use as a guide or as a "cornerstone" for the design of their schools and education systems.