This article describes the grim sentiments from the U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, when reviewing the poor results from the U.S. performance on the 2012 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). He noted a straightforward and stark picture of educational stagnation--that fifteen-year-olds in the U.S. today are average in…

This report seeks to answer four questions about data used every day in comparing higher education in the United States with that in other countries, particularly the 30 advanced post-industrial democracies, including the United States, that are members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). These questions are: (1)…

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, the United Kingdom) that are among the world's most economically developed countries and among the United States' largest economic partners.…

In this publication, the authors compare the salaries of primary (Grades 1 to 6 in most countries) and secondary school (usually Grades 7 to 12) teachers with the salaries of people in mathematics-oriented professions, such as engineering, scientific fields, and accounting. Their analysis centers on a number of developed and developing countries.…

The countries discussed in this report are mainly Western European and are those from which modern science, analytical methods, and inductive and deductive reasoning arose in the 17th and 18th centuries. This report has been prepared to provide as consistent a database as possible on human resources for science in the specified European countries.…

This discussion draft reviews trends in Canada's apprenticeship system over the last 20 years and then examines prospects for labor market conditions for Canada's total economy and for the construction sector to the year 2005. The apprenticeship system has a number of serious weaknesses, including the following: (1) the stagnation in new…

The flow of developing country students to developed countries is examined from the perspective of the sending authorities in developing countries and the loss of foreign exchange to developing nations. The implications for expansion of higher education in developing nations are discussed. (MSE)

In Ireland, funding of vocational education and training (VET) has been affected by economic change, changes in government vocational training policy, and legislation. Expenditure on initial VET is considerable and has been growing as young people stay longer at second-level school and a greater proportion attend post-school training.…

The amount of time students are exposed to material is one measure of student access to learning opportunities. This information sheet compares instructional time for students in several developed countries. However, how effectively classroom time is used had the greatest influence on student learning. The average amount of time 13-year-olds spent…

Educational issues across the different member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) are compared in this report. The OECD is made up of 26 developed countries. The indicators used in this analysis cover the years 1985 to 1991, a 7-year time series to study trends in policy. The indicators in this report…

This document provides a preliminary set of environmental indicators by which to measure environmental performance. The indicators are patterned on the outline of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) "Report on the State of the Environment," a companion volume published in the same year. This volume is…

Using a data set of 123 countries, the status of youth was analyzed on a global scale. The relative proportions of youth and adult populations and the opportunities nations provided their young people were evaluated. The implications of inter-age and intra-age stratification throughout the world are discussed. (SLD)

Worldwide educational indicators are presented in tables and graphs by region. The indicators are selected to highlight the International Literacy Year and Education for All, two programs of particular importance to the United Nations. Data are presented for the school years beginning in 1970, 1975, 1980, and select years up to 1987. The terms…

This publication compiles a comprehensive set of educational indicators using data from a variety of sources and presents results of interest to a U.S. audience about education in the United States and other countries. International indicators provide the United States with an opportunity to compare its performance with that of other countries, to…