This report describes how the education system in the United States compares with education systems in the other Group of Eight (G-8) countries: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Russian Federation and the United Kingdom. The report draws on the most current information about education from three primary sources: the Indicators of National Education Systems (INES) project; the 2003 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA 2003); and the 2003 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS 2003). Findings are organized around five major sections: (1) Population and School Enrollment (Youth Population, Enrollment in Formal Education, Foreign Students in Postsecondary Education); (2) Academic Performance (Fourth-Grade Mathematics and Science Performance, Performance in Mathematics Literacy among 15-Year-Old Students, Relationship between Reading and Mathematics Achievement); (3) Context for Learning (Mathematics Learning, Teacher Professional Development in Mathematics and Science, School Principals' Uses for Assessments); (4) Expenditure for Education (Public School Teachers' Salaries, Expenditure for Education); and (5) Education Returns: Educational Attainment and Income. An appendix presents: The Education Systems of the G-8 Countries. (Contains 38 figures and 5 tables.)