What would be one of the most sensible ways for a country to invest to achieve maximal economic growth? A recent study (Chetty, Friedman, & Rockoff, 2011) by economists at Harvard and Columbia Universities shows that better teacher quality results in significantly higher students' lifetime earnings. And investing in public school teachers…

The Finnish National Board of Education has been publishing guidelines for the evaluation of student learning in the comprehensive school since the 1970s. This evaluation is two-fold: 1) during school it guides and supports students along their academic paths and 2) at the conclusion of the comprehensive school it expresses each student's level of…

Last year the United States unveiled the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in English and Mathematics for grades K-12. In particular, the authors included two possible sequences of 8-12 mathematics courses that would fulfill the standards. Most notably, the courses titled "3a" and "3b" in these two sequences have become…

Finland and Singapore are both nations that have excelled in mathematics on international assessments, such as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Evidence of Finland's educational success emerged with the outcome of the first PISA study in 2000. Since…

Mathematics teachers in Finland and Iceland are on different tracks. Based on a recent video study, the classroom practices of Finnish mathematics teachers seem to be rather traditional. This is in contrast to the Icelandic teachers many of whom use progressive-minded, learner-based instructional strategies. The classroom practices in Finland…