Top Performers
Marc Tucker was president of the National Center on Education and the Economy. For two decades, his research focused on the policies and practices of the countries with the best education systems. This blog is no longer being updated.
School & District Management
Opinion
How Stories, More Than Facts, Shape the Possibilities for Education Reform
The heated debate over how to improve schools shows no sign of slowing down. Marc Tucker argues its time to move beyond the flawed narratives that only foster division and move toward the real change that is needed.
Standards
Opinion
The Testing Tragedy
Marc Tucker discusses the importance of getting testing right now that the number of PARCC and Smarter Balanced states have declined significantly.
College & Workforce Readiness
Opinion
An Open Letter to Secretary DeVos: How to Create a World-Class Career and Technical Education System
In an open letter to Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, Marc Tucker outlines what it would take for the United States to build a career and technical education system on par with those of top-performing countries.
School Climate & Safety
Opinion
British Columbia's Curriculum: A Glimpse of the Future?
Marc Tucker speaks with the leader of British Columbia's recent curriculum reforms that were co-created with teachers across the province.
College & Workforce Readiness
Opinion
What, Exactly, Should the Purpose of Career and Technical Education Be?
The world's best Career and Technical Education systems produce graduates with industry-recognized credentials that have real economic value. Marc Tucker argues that's the exception rather than the rule for US CTE programs.
Education Funding
Opinion
AI, Robotics, and Neural Networks: Revolutionary or Overhyped?
While experts disagree on the size of the effects of new technologies on the economy and society as a whole, Marc Tucker argues that the consequences for education will be nothing short of profound.
Education
Opinion
School Autonomy Isn't The Cure-All You Might Think It Is
Marc Tucker shares how the division of authority in top-performing countries brings them that much closer to achieving the highest possible student achievement with the most equity.
Special Education
Opinion
Most Students Aren't on Grade Level, Here's What to Do About It
With more than 6 in 10 students not performing on grade-level in U.S. schools, Marc Tucker looks at how we build an education system that actually leaves no student behind.
Equity & Diversity
Opinion
Are Charter Management Companies a Laboratory for Effective School Systems?
Marc Tucker argues that there is no evidence that charter systems at scale raise student performance to global levels, and advises policymakers to instead, focus on learning from nations and states whose students are outperforming U.S. students across the board.
Curriculum
Opinion
The "Creative Destruction" of the American School Publishing Industry
Marc Tucker discusses the consolidation of the American textbook industry and its impact on the quality of the instructional materials publishers now produce.
School & District Management
Opinion
Two Theories of School Improvement—Which Works Better?
Marc Tucker reviews two theories of school improvement facing policymakers today and urges a systems approach.
School & District Management
Opinion
A Nation at Risk Was Fake News
Marc Tucker explores how A Nation at Risk ushered in a damaging era of profound distrust in professional educators based on a false narrative of the decline of American education.
Teaching Profession
Opinion
Professionalizing Teaching Isn't About More Compensation For the Same Occupation
By continuing to embrace an industrial-age model based on low labor costs, American education has been left in the dust by countries that have embraced a professional model of teaching and school organization, writes Marc Tucker.
Recruitment & Retention
Opinion
Learning From the Nursing Profession in the New Teacher Strike Era
As teacher strikes sweep the nation, Marc Tucker compares the trajectory of teaching to that of the nursing profession, one of high standards of entry and rigorous preparation.