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Differences in teacher quality are commonly cited as a key determinant of the huge international student performance gaps. However, convincing evidence on this relationship is still lacking, in part because it is unclear how to measure teacher quality consistently across countries. We use unique international assessment data to investigate the role of teacher cognitive skills as one main dimension of teacher quality in explaining student outcomes. Our main identification strategy exploits exogenous variation in teacher cognitive skills attributable to international differences in relative wages of nonteacher public sector employees. Using student-level test score data, we find that teacher cognitive skills are an important determinant of international differences in student performance. Results are supported by fixed-effects estimation that uses within-country between-subject variation in teacher skills.

This report reviews the use of loans for learning in 33 European countries and analyses the schemes in eight selected Member States: France, Hungary, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Finland, Sweden and the UK. The analysis shows that loan schemes vary considerably across Europe in terms of types and levels of learning covered, conditions of access, repayment and governance. Some loans aim to increase participation in learning in general, while others are designed to promote equity. The report attempts to assess the selected loans and discusses their strengths and weaknesses and determinants of performance, while considering if a given scheme operates on a large scale or targets niche groups. The evaluation results provide a basis for identifying good practice principles for designing and implementing loans. Policy recommendations are formulated based on these findings. Annexed are: (1) Methodology; (2) Key terms and definitions; (3) Information on countries/schemes selected for in-depth analysis; (4) Proposed typologies of VET loan schemes; (5) Tables and figures; (6) Tosmana truth tables; (7) Questionnaires; (8) Basic characteristics of non-European loan schemes. (Contains 37 tables, 5 figures, 20 boxes and 33 footnotes.)

The question of whether inequality in skills explains inequality of earnings across advanced countries was examined through a review of data from the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS), which examined the prose, document, and quantitative literacy skills of adults in 12 member countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. In all countries, jobless individuals tended to have lower skill levels than workers. The distribution of earnings and the distribution of skills varied widely among advanced countries, with the major English-speaking countries, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada, having much greater inequality in both earnings and skills than continental European Union countries. According to data from the IALS, skill inequality explains only approximately 7% of the cross-country difference in earnings inequality. The dispersion of earnings in the United States was found to be larger in narrowly defined skill groups than was the dispersion of earnings for European workers overall. In the United States, IALS test scores rose substantially with movement up the income scale, with the increase in scores averaging 17 points per income quintile. The bulk of cross-country differences in earnings inequality were found to occur within skill groups rather than between them. (The bibliography contains 20 references. Twelve tables/figures are included.) (MN)

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an intergovernmental economic organisation with 35 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade. The Organisation for works with countries to develop skills strategies tailored to specific needs and contexts. The Organisation prepared a global skills strategy outline over the period 2011 to 2013. Each national skills strategy country project offers a tailored approach to focus on the unique skills challenges, context and objectives of each country. Each project leverages OECD comparative data and policy analysis, fosters collaboration across ministerial portfolios and levels of government while engaging all relevant stakeholders--employers, trade unions, and civil society organisations. In its paper "Towards an OECD Skills Strategy" (OECD 2013), the OECD sets out the main issues which must be addressed by efficient and effective policies for skills formation and skills use. The majority of material in each of the 13 case summaries presented here has been lifted mostly verbatim from original sources. These sources are stated at the beginning of each case summary. [This document is an added resource for the report "Identifying Work Skills: International Approaches. Discussion Paper" which can be accessed in ERIC at ED579874.]

This report presents data on peer-reviewed S&E journals and conference proceedings reflecting the rapidly expanding volume of research activity, the involvement and scientific capabilities different countries, and the expanding research ecosystem demonstrated through international collaborations. Publication output grew about 4% annually over the past 10 years. China and India grew more than the world average, while the United States and European Union grew less than the world average. Research papers from the United States and EU countries had higher impact scores. International collaborations have increased over the past 10 years. [SRI International, Center for Innovation Strategy and Policy assisted with report preparation.]

Is the United States getting it wrong when it comes to educating tomorrow's innovators in critical fields? It has been known for years that the only way to compete globally in information technology, engineering, nanotechnology, robotics and other fields is to give students the best educational opportunities possible. But do individuals have a successful formula when it comes to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education? In this report, the authors challenge the nation's approach to STEM education and argue that reforms are urgently needed to better match the talents of students, the needs of employers, and its goals. (Contains 19 tables, 42 figures, and 623 endnotes.) [Funding for this paper was provided by the Intel Corporation. For "Refueling the U.S. Innovation Economy: Fresh Approaches to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education. Executive Summary," see ED521736.]

This 22-country survey was conducted between 1994 and 1998. Representative samples of adults aged 16-65 were interviewed and tested at home using the same literacy tests. The main purpose of the survey was to find out how well adults use information to function in society. Another aim was to investigate the factors that influence literacy proficiency and to compare these between countries. Ten international indicators are presented that allow readers to compare the literary proficiency of Americans with that of other populations as measured on the prose literary scale; similar results are provided in quantitative scales. The findings confirm how low literacy is an important issue in all regions in all countries surveyed. On the whole, the findings show that Americans are at an average level of prose literacy performance, behind the Nordic countries and the Netherlands but on a par with adults in Australia, Canada, and Germany. Literacy proficiency is more unequally distributed in the United States and Canada than in Europe, with the most literate 25% of North Americans scoring far higher than average. "Life-long" learning programs, as well as early childhood education, more access to adult education and to information and communication technologies, and the promotion of literacy-rich environments at work, home, and in the community are proposed as solutions to improve adult literacy. The paper is divided into 3 chapters, 4 annexes, and 10 data-rich figures. (Adjunct ERIC Clearinghouse for ESL Literacy Education) (KFT)