Why American Education Fails

Despite great reform efforts, U.S. students still remain in the middle of the pack in international test scores. Comparing education systems around the world in a new Foreign Affairs article, assistant professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education Jal Mehta writes that many of the nations that rank highest internationally "owe their success to approaches that are in many ways the inverse of the American one.”

In searching for best-practices, Mehta calls for a switch from the current U.S. policy that focuses on teacher accountability to a model that focuses on making teachers experts in teaching, including better recruitment, training, knowledge development, and school organization.