What makes school systems perform? In 2002, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research launched an innovative, multilateral study aimed at linking the results from the OECD PISA 2000 survey to qualitative evidence on important public policy measures. The study covered:

• Strategies for educational reform and innovation
• Issues of governance and resource allocation
• National approaches to standard-setting, assessment and system monitoring
• Organisation of support systems
• Professional development of teachers and career pathways
• National approaches to addressing socio-economic differences in students’ backgrounds

This report presents key results from the research. It supports the ongoing shift in policy focus from educational inputs to learning outcomes and seeks to assist countries in bringing about improvements in schooling and better preparation for young people as they enter an adult life of rapid change and deepening global interdependence.

Researchers and experts from Canada, England, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden collaborated in this study within a common comparative analytical framework, under the direction of the German Institute for International Educational Research.

This report covers Canada, England, Finland, France, the Netherlands and Sweden.