How to improve education quality?

Section 1 Top 35 Countries with the Highest Education Quality

Data Year: 2023. Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) / Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) Education Index. The Education Quality Index reflects a composite of learning outcomes, school completion rates, literacy, numeracy, and access metrics.

Source: OECD PISA 2022 Results (2023 release); Economist Intelligence Unit Education Rankings 2023.

United States Ranking Analysis (2023): The United States ranks 26th among the top 35 countries in this study, with an Education Quality Index of 82.5. The U.S. scores below many of its peer nations for several documented reasons:

(1) High levels of socioeconomic inequality in school funding, as local property taxes rather than equalized national formulas largely determine per-pupil spending;

(2) Variable teacher preparation standards across states compared to countries that mandate national certification and graduate-level training;

(3) Curriculum fragmentation across 50 independent state education systems without a unifying national curriculum framework; and

(4) Lower PISA scores in mathematics and science relative to top-ranked East Asian and Nordic nations. For 2024, the U.S. Education Quality Index is estimated at approximately 83.1, reflecting modest improvements in NAEP reading scores and expanded early childhood program access under the Bipartisan Infrastructure and CHIPS Act provisions for workforce training, but the underlying structural challenges persist.

References:

OECD PISA - www.oecd.org/pisa

EIU Education Ranking - www.eiu.com

National Center for Education Statistics - nces.ed.gov

World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report - weforum.org

Education Quality by World Region (sorted by index, highest to lowest):

Section 2. What Other Countries Have Done to Increase Their Education Quality

The 8 Top Rated Countries with the Highest Education Quality

Suomi (Finland)

https://www.oph.fi/enSuomi's education system is consistently recognized as one of the world's best. The Suomi National Agency for Education () oversees a curriculum that emphasizes critical thinking and pupil well-being over standardized testing.

https://www.helsinki.fi/enThe Basic Education Act (628/1998) guarantees free, high-quality schooling through grade 9. Every teacher is required to hold a master’s degree, and teacher training programs at institutions such as the University of Helsinki () are among the most selective in the country.

https://www.pisa.oecd.orgThe PISA Collaborative initiative () repeatedly places Suomi 15-year-olds at or near the top in reading, mathematics, and science.

Special education is embedded in mainstream classrooms through a three-tier support model, ensuring no student is left behind.

https://minedu.fi/enMunicipalities fund local schools through an equalization formula managed by the Ministry of Education and Culture (), eliminating most socioeconomic disparities in school resources.

Hanguk (South Korea)

https://english.moe.go.krHanguk's Ministry of Education () administers the NEIS (National Education Information System) which tracks student progress and resource allocation nationwide.

The Education Act and subsequent amendments mandate nine years of free compulsory education.

https://www.kice.re.krThe Hanguk Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation (KICE, ) designs the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT/Suneung), which drives rigorous academic preparation. Private investment in education is supplemented by the government's EduTech initiative, channeling investment into AI-based tutoring platforms.

https://www.kedi.re.krThe Hanguk Educational Development Institute (KEDI, ) conducts longitudinal research on learning outcomes.

The government enacted the Special Act on Education for Persons with Disabilities to ensure inclusive schooling.

https://www.kofac.re.krGifted education programs supported by the Hanguk Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Creativity (KOFAC, ) identify and nurture high-ability students from underserved communities.

Nippon (Japan)

https://www.mext.go.jp/enNippon's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT, ) shapes a national curriculum emphasizing both academic rigor and moral education.

The Fundamental Law of Education (2006 revision) enshrined lifelong learning as a national goal.

https://www.dnc.ac.jpThe National Center for University Entrance Examinations () administers the Common Test for University Admissions.

https://www.jst.go.jp/ENhttps://www.jsps.go.jp/englishThe Nippon Science and Technology Agency (JST, ) funds STEM enrichment at the secondary level, while the Nippon Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS, ) supports research-based learning in universities.

School lunches are prepared by trained nutritionists in school kitchens (kyushoku), promoting health alongside learning.

The government's GIGA School initiative (2020) provided one device per student to all public school pupils nationwide, accelerating digital literacy.

Teacher In-service training is mandated by prefectural boards of education in collaboration with MEXT.

Canada

https://www.cmec.caCanada's education governance is decentralized across ten provinces and three territories, yet consistently high outcomes result from coordinated efforts through the Council of Ministers of Education Canada (CMEC, ).

https://edu.gov.on.cahttps://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/governments/organizational-structure/ministries-orgs/ministries/educationProvincial ministries such as the Ontario Ministry of Education () and British Columbia's Ministry of Education and Child Care () set detailed curriculum frameworks.

The Pan-Canadian Assessment Program (PCAP) benchmarks mathematics, reading, and science across provinces.

https://www.sac-isc.gc.caIndigenous education initiatives funded through Indigenous Services Canada () work to incorporate First Nations, Metis, and Inuit languages and knowledge into school programs. The Canada Student Loans

https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-developmentProgram () reduces post-secondary financial barriers.

The Government of Canada's Skills Boost initiative partners with corporations such as Google, IBM, and Salesforce to provide digital skills training to workers.

Nederland (Netherlands)

https://www.onderwijsinspectie.nlThe Dutch Inspectorate of Education (Onderwijsinspectie, ) conducts rigorous school quality reviews that inform public transparency and accountability.

The Education Act (Wet op het primair onderwijs) requires all schools, whether public or privately run, to meet national attainment standards.

https://www.slo.nl/enThe national curriculum framework, periodically updated by SLO (Nederland Institute for Curriculum Development, ), promotes cross-curricular competencies including creativity, digital literacy, and citizenship.

https://www.government.nl/ministries/ministry-of-education-culture-and-scienceThe Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW, ) oversees an equalized per-pupil funding formula that supplements resources for schools serving disadvantaged communities (the "weights" system).

https://www.nro.nl/enThe National Science Agenda (NWA) funds inquiry-based learning in secondary schools. University-school partnerships, coordinated by the Nederland Initiative for Education Research (NRO, ), translate research into classroom practice.

Australia

https://www.acara.edu.auAustralia's Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA, ) designed a unified national curriculum adopted across all states and territories.

https://www.myschool.edu.auThe My School website () provides transparent data on school performance, enabling community accountability.

The Gonski funding model, legislated through the Australian Education Act 2013 and its subsequent amendments, directs higher needs-based funding to under-resourced schools.

https://www.aitsl.edu.auTeacher quality is regulated by the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL, ), which sets national Professional Standards for Teachers.

https://www.education.gov.auThe Department of Education () invests in the Closing the Gap strategy to improve educational outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.

https://www.arc.gov.auThe Australian Research Council (ARC, ) funds innovative pedagogy research, including projects on formative assessment and project-based learning in government schools.

Sverige (Sweden)

https://www.skolverket.se/enSverige's National Agency for Education (Skolverket, ) publishes comprehensive curricula and assessment guidelines applied in all compulsory schools.

The Education Act (2010:800) guarantees free preschool for all children from age one.

https://www.skolinspektionen.se/enThe Sverige Schools Inspectorate (Skolinspektionen, ) conducts regular reviews of all schools and has authority to impose sanctions on underperforming institutions. Sverige's compensatory funding mechanism redistributes national tax revenue so that municipalities with high concentrations of disadvantaged students receive extra resources.

https://www.vr.se/englishThe Sverige Research Council () funds classroom-based research through close collaboration with teacher-training universities.

https://www.spsm.se/enRegional Resource Centres for special education provide intensive support for students with learning disabilities, coordinated by the Sverige Institute for Special Needs Education (SPSM, ).

Schweiz (Switzerland)

https://www.skbf-csre.ch/enSchweiz 's Federal Coordination Commission for Educational Research () integrates research across its four linguistic regions, ensuring policy coherence in a highly decentralized system.

https://www.edk.ch/enThe Schweiz Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education (EDK, ) coordinates the HarmoS intercantonal agreement, which standardizes language learning, mathematics, and science benchmarks.

https://www.ehb.swiss/enThe Schweiz Federal Institute for Vocational and Professional Education and Training (SFIVET, ) oversees the renowned dual apprenticeship system, which channels approximately two-thirds of students into high-quality vocational tracks.

University of Applied Sciences colleges (Fachhochschulen) provide academic pathways for apprenticeship graduates.

https://www.sbfi.admin.ch/enThe State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI, ) allocates federal funding for research and innovation, contributing to world-class tertiary institutions. Schweiz's PISA performance consistently places it in the top 10 for all three core domains.

Section 3. What the U.S. Can Do to Increase Its Education Quality

General Overview: The United States possesses the financial resources, institutional infrastructure, and civic commitment to achieve a top ten global ranking in education quality. Doing so requires systemic reform across funding equity, teacher quality, curriculum coherence, early childhood investment, and community engagement.

Government Agencies:

https://www.ed.govThe U.S. Department of Education () must revise the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to establish a mandatory national minimum per-pupil funding standard tied to student need rather than local property wealth. The Department must expand the Title I funding formula to cover 100% of eligible students at full statutory funding levels.

https://ies.ed.govThe Institute of Education Sciences (IES, ) should be empowered and resourced to conduct large-scale randomized controlled trials of instructional interventions and disseminate findings to districts within a two-year window.

https://www.nsf.govThe National Science Foundation (NSF, ) must expand its STEM education grant programs, targeting schools in rural and high-poverty urban districts.

https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocrThe Office for Civil Rights (OCR, ) must rigorously enforce anti-discrimination provisions in school resource allocation.

https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.govThe Head Start program, administered by the Office of Head Start (), must expand to serve all income-eligible children.

https://www.dol.govThe Department of Labor () must partner with the Department of Education to expand Registered Apprenticeship programs at the secondary level.

Government Officials:

The President of the United States must submit to Congress an Education Quality Improvement Act that codifies national learning standards, professional teacher licensing requirements, and equalized school funding formulas.

State Governors must convene bipartisan education task forces charged with auditing state funding formulas and publishing remediation plans within 180 days.

State Superintendents of Education must implement longitudinal data systems that track student learning from preschool through workforce entry, sharing anonymized results with IES.

Members of Congress on the Education and Labor Committee must schedule annual hearings with PISA researchers and international education ministers to benchmark U.S. progress.

The U.S. Secretary of Education must establish an International Education Advisory Council composed of education ministers and system leaders from the top ten ranked nations.

Corporations:

https://edu.google.comhttps://www.microsoft.com/en-us/educationhttps://www.apple.com/educationMajor technology firms including Google (), Microsoft (), and Apple () must expand their free or subsidized device and connectivity programs to ensure 100% broadband and device access for public school students by 2027.

https://www.gatesfoundation.orghttps://www.waltonfamilyfoundation.orghttps://www.jpmorganchase.comhttps://www.nam.orgCorporate foundations, led by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation () and the Walton Family Foundation (), must prioritize grants that replicate evidence-based interventions identified by IES. JPMorgan Chase's New Skills at Work initiative () must partner with 500 additional school districts to embed workforce readiness curricula in grades 9 through 12. Energy companies and manufacturers must invest in Career and Technical Education (CTE) facilities in exchange for pipeline agreements with school districts, coordinated through the National Association of Manufacturers ().

Corporations with global operations in top-ranked education nations must share internal professional development models with their U.S. employee tuition assistance programs.

Organizations:

https://www.nea.orghttps://www.aft.orgThe National Education Association (NEA, ) and American Federation of Teachers (AFT, ) must partner with university schools of education to develop residency-based teacher preparation programs modeled on the Suomi system, requiring a master’s degree as a condition of full licensure by 2030.

https://www.ccsso.orgThe Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO, ) must release annual state-by-state equity scorecards identifying disparities in funding, teacher quality, and advanced coursework access.

https://www.pta.orgThe National PTA () must lead a national parent engagement campaign in partnership with community health centers to address attendance barriers.

https://nul.orghttps://www.unidosus.orgThe Urban League () and National Council of La Raza (Unidos US, ) must deploy community school navigators to bridge family-school gaps in underserved communities.

https://www.rand.orghttps://www.brookings.eduThe RAND Corporation () and Brookings Institution () must expand their education research capacity and publish accessible policy briefs for state legislators.

Private Citizens:

Individual citizens must advocate at school board meetings for equitable per-pupil funding and rigorous instructional materials.

High-net-worth individuals and philanthropists are encouraged to endow university chairs in education policy research, fund tutoring programs in Title I schools, and sponsor scholarships for students pursuing teaching careers in shortage subjects.

https://www.proudtoserveagain.comhttps://www.mathforamerica.orgRetired professionals with STEM backgrounds should enroll in programs such as Troops to Teachers () or Math for America () to enter classrooms as midcareer teachers.

Parents must support strong homework and reading cultures at home and participate actively in IEP processes for children with special needs.

Section 4. References

Section 2 References:

Finnish National Agency for Education - oph.fi/en

OECD PISA - oecd.org/pisa

Korea Institute for Curriculum and Evaluation - kice.re.kr

MEXT Japan - mext.go.jp/en

Council of Ministers of Education Canada - cmec.ca

Australian Curriculum Authority - acara.edu.au

Swedish National Agency for Education - skolverket.se/en

Swiss EDK - edk.ch/en

Netherlands Inspectorate of Education - onderwijsinspectie.nl

Section 3 References:

U.S. Department of Education - ed.gov

Institute of Education Sciences - ies.ed.gov

National Science Foundation - nsf.gov

Head Start / ECLKC - eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov

National Education Association - nea.org

American Federation of Teachers - aft.org

Gates Foundation - gatesfoundation.org

JPMorgan Chase New Skills at Work - jpmorganchase.com

RAND Corporation Education - rand.org

Brookings Institution - brookings.edu

Section 5. Draft of a House Bill

118th CONGRESS

2d Session

H.R. _____

A BILL

To improve and ensure the quality of education in the United States, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND DEFINITIONS.

This Act may be cited as the "American Education Quality Improvement Act of 2024."

DEFINITIONS.

As used in this Act:

1. "Education Quality" means a measurable composite index of student learning outcomes, school completion rates, adult literacy, numeracy proficiency, equitable access to educational resources, and international assessment performance as defined by the Secretary of Education.

2. "Secretary" means the Secretary of Education of the United States.

3. "State Educational Agency" or "SEA" means the agency or officer primarily responsible for the supervision of public elementary and secondary schools within a State.

4. "Local Educational Agency" or "LEA" means a public board of education or other public authority legally constituted within a State for administrative control of public elementary or secondary schools.

5. "Equalized Per-Pupil Funding" means a funding formula that adjusts base per-pupil expenditures upward for students with high educational needs, including students in poverty, English learners, and students with disabilities, drawing on State and Federal sources to eliminate disparities attributable to local property wealth.

6. "Evidence-Based Intervention" means an activity, strategy, or program that demonstrates a statistically significant effect on improving student academic achievement or other relevant outcomes based on strong or moderate evidence from randomized controlled trials or quasi-experimental designs.

7. "Educator Preparation Program" means any program, including traditional university-based programs and alternative pathways, that prepares individuals to meet licensure requirements for teachers and school leaders in public elementary and secondary schools.

8. "Early Childhood Education" means programs and services for children from birth through age eight, including preschool, prekindergarten, and Head Start programs.

9. "Digital Equity" means the condition in which all individuals and communities have the information technology capacity needed for full participation in society, democracy, and the economy, including reliable broadband internet access and modern computing devices.

10. "PISA" means the Programme for International Student Assessment administered by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

11. "Longitudinal Data System" means a statewide electronic database that links individual student records across academic years, educational levels, and through workforce entry, subject to Federal and State privacy laws.

12. "Career and Technical Education" or "CTE" means organized educational activities that offer a sequence of courses providing individuals with coherent and rigorous content aligned with challenging academic standards and relevant technical knowledge and skills needed to prepare for further education and careers in current or emerging professions.

SECTION 2. ENACTING CLAUSE AND FINDINGS.

Congress finds and declares as follows:

(a) The education quality of the United States, as measured by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Programme for International Student Assessment and comparable international indices, has declined relative to peer nations and currently ranks 26th among developed nations.

(b) Persistent inequities in school funding, educator quality, and access to advanced coursework correlate strongly with socioeconomic status, race, and geography and represent a failure to provide equal educational opportunity as guaranteed by Federal law.

(c) Nations ranking highest in education quality, including Suomi, Hanguk, Nippon, Canada, and the Nederland, have achieved their results through systemic investments in early childhood education, equalized funding, high-standard teacher preparation, and coherent national curriculum frameworks that the United States has not yet implemented at scale.

(d) Improving education quality is a matter of national security, economic competitiveness, workforce readiness, and democratic participation, and therefore requires comprehensive and sustained Federal action in partnership with States, local governments, the private sector, and civil society.

SECTION 3. REQUIREMENTS BY GOVERNMENT AGENCIES.

(a) Department of Education.

(1) The Secretary shall, not later than 180 days after enactment of this Act, promulgate regulations establishing a National Education Quality Standard specifying minimum student learning outcomes in reading, mathematics, science, and civics for each grade level in public elementary and secondary schools.

(2) The Secretary shall revise the Title I, Part A funding formula under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to allocate Federal funds exclusively on the basis of student poverty concentration and shall phase out all hold-harmless provisions that direct funds to low-need districts within five years of enactment.

(3) The Institute of Education Sciences shall establish and fund a National Education Research Network, modeled on practices of leading nations, that shall conduct randomized controlled trials on evidence-based instructional interventions and disseminate findings to all SEAs within 24 months of trial completion.

(4) The Office for Civil Rights shall conduct annual audits of per-pupil funding disparities, course access, and disciplinary practices within the 100 largest LEAs and shall publish remediation orders within 90 days of identifying a civil rights violation.

(5) The Office of Head Start shall develop and submit to Congress, within one year of enactment, a plan to extend access to full-day, full-year Head Start or Early Head Start services to all income-eligible children, with full funding phased in over five fiscal years.

(b) National Science Foundation.

(1) NSF shall create an Education Innovation Fund of not less than $500,000,000 annually to support the development, rigorous evaluation, and scaling of STEM instructional materials and programs in high-poverty schools.

(c) Department of Labor.

(1) The Secretary of Labor shall expand the Registered Apprenticeship program to include not fewer than 1,000 new secondary-school-based apprenticeship pathways in high-demand industries by 2028, coordinating directly with SEAs and LEAs.

SECTION 4. REQUIREMENTS BY GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS.

(a) The President shall, not later than one year after enactment, submit to Congress a comprehensive Education Quality Implementation Plan identifying Federal agency roles, measurable benchmarks, and a ten-year funding trajectory for achieving a top-ten PISA ranking.

(b) State Governors shall, as a condition of receiving enhanced Federal education funds under this Act, convene bipartisan education funding task forces and submit to the Secretary an equity audit of the State school finance system and a remediation plan within 180 days of such condition becoming effective.

(c) State Superintendents of Education shall implement statewide longitudinal data systems meeting Federal interoperability standards within three years of enactment and shall publish annual reports on student achievement, teacher quality, school funding equity, and postsecondary and workforce outcomes.

(d) Members of the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate shall hold not fewer than two oversight hearings annually on U.S. education quality relative to international benchmarks.

(e) The Secretary shall establish an International Education Advisory Council composed of the chief education officers or ministers from the ten highest-ranked nations in education quality, which shall convene not fewer than once per year and shall submit recommendations to Congress.

SECTION 5. REQUIREMENTS BY CORPORATIONS.

(a) Digital Access.

(1) Technology companies with annual gross revenues exceeding $1,000,000,000 that provide hardware, software, or connectivity services shall enter into Digital Equity Partnership Agreements with the Secretary, committing to provide subsidized or free devices and broadband connectivity to all public school students in Title I schools by December 31, 2027.

(b) Workforce Preparation.

(1) Corporations employing more than 5,000 employees in the United States shall adopt or expand tuition assistance programs for employees, designate liaison officers to partner with at least one LEA, and participate in the Department of Labor's Registered Apprenticeship program.

(2) Corporate foundations making educational grants of $10,000,000 or more per year shall allocate not less than 40 percent of such grant funds to evidence-based programs in schools with student poverty rates above the national median.

(c) Reporting.

(1) Each corporation entering into a Digital Equity Partnership Agreement under subsection (a) shall report annually to the Secretary on devices deployed, schools served, and broadband speeds achieved.

SECTION 6. REQUIREMENTS BY PRIVATE CITIZENS AND ORGANIZATIONS.

(a) Teacher Preparation.

(1) Educator preparation programs receiving Federal funds under the Higher Education Act shall, within five years of enactment, require all candidates for initial teacher licensure to complete a residency of not less than one full academic year in a school serving a high-poverty student population.

(2) National teacher organizations, including the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers, shall collaborate with the Secretary to develop nationally portable teacher licensing standards, including minimum graduate-level coursework requirements, modeled on the practices of the highest-ranked nations.

(b) Community Engagement.

(1) The Secretary shall establish a Volunteer Education Mentors Initiative to connect professionals, retirees, and college students with Title I schools as tutors, mentors, and career presenters, targeting not fewer than one million volunteer hours per year by 2027.

(2) Institutions of higher education receiving Federal funds shall expand teacher residency partnerships with high-need LEAs and shall share professional development resources with partner schools at no cost.

SECTION 7. PENALTY CLAUSES.

(a) State Penalties.

(1) A State that fails to submit a required equity audit and remediation plan within the time prescribed shall be ineligible for enhanced Federal education grant funds under this Act until compliance is achieved.

(2) A State whose SEA has been found by the Office for Civil Rights to have violated Federal civil rights provisions and has failed to implement a remediation order within 365 days shall be subject to withholding of 10 percent of its Title I allocation until corrective action is completed.

(b) Corporate Penalties.

(1) A corporation that fails to fulfill the obligations of a Digital Equity Partnership Agreement shall be subject to a civil monetary penalty of not more than $1,000,000 per year for each year of noncompliance, as assessed by the Federal Trade Commission.

(c) LEA Penalties.

(1) An LEA that fails to implement a longitudinal data system meeting Federal standards within the required period shall be ineligible for discretionary competitive grants administered by the Department of Education until such system is operational.

SECTION 8. EFFECTIVE DATES AND IMPLEMENTATION.

(a) General Effective Date. Except as otherwise provided, this Act shall take effect on the date of enactment.

(b) Regulatory Deadlines. The Secretary shall promulgate all implementing regulations required by this Act not later than 12 months after enactment unless a different period is expressly stated.

(c) State Implementation. States shall have not more than 36 months from enactment to achieve compliance with funding equity requirements unless the Secretary grants a single 12-month extension for demonstrated good-cause delay.

(d) Phased Programs. Early childhood expansion under Section 3(a)(5) and Digital Equity Partnerships under Section 5(a)(1) shall be fully implemented not later than five years after enactment.

(e) Annual Progress Reports. The Secretary shall submit an annual Education Quality Progress Report to Congress beginning one year after enactment, including PISA trend data, funding equity metrics, teacher quality indicators, and early childhood participation rates.

SECTION 9. APPROPRIATIONS AND BUDGETARY NOTES.

(a) There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out Section 3(a) (Department of Education requirements) $10,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2025 and such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2034.

(b) There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out Section 3(b) (National Science Foundation Education Innovation Fund) $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2025 and each fiscal year thereafter through 2034.

(c) There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out Section 3(c) (Department of Labor Apprenticeship) $250,000,000 for fiscal year 2025 and such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2034.

(d) There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out Section 6(b)(1) (Volunteer Education Mentors Initiative) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2025 and such sums as may be necessary through 2034.

(e) For administrative costs of the International Education Advisory Council under Section 4(e), there are authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 annually.

(f) All appropriations authorized under this Act are subject to annual review by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions and shall be included in the President's annual budget submission.

ENDNOTES

The legislative requirements contained in Sections 3 through 6 draw on policies, laws, and initiatives from the top-ranked education systems identified in Section 2 of this document. The following sources were consulted:

Finnish Basic Education Act - finlex.fi (Suomi equalized funding, teacher qualifications, special education)

Korean Education Act - moleg.go.kr (Hanguk CSAT, inclusive education, gifted programs)

MEXT Japan Fundamental Law of Education - mext.go.jp/en (Nippon national curriculum, lifelong learning, GIGA school)

CMEC Pan-Canadian Education Indicators - cmec.ca (Canada Indigenous education, provincial coordination)

Dutch Primary Education Act - wetten.nl (Nederland equalized funding, school quality reviews)

Australian Education Act 2013 - legislation.gov.au (Australia Gonski funding, AITSL teacher standards)

Swedish Education Act 2010:800 - riksdagen.se (Sverige free preschool, schools inspectorate, compensatory funding)

Swiss HarmoS Intercantonal Agreement - edk.ch/en (Schweiz dual apprenticeship, intercantonal curriculum standards)

Norway Education Act - lovdata.no (Norge early childhood, teacher master's degree requirement)

German Basic Law on Education - kmk.org (Deutschland vocational dual system, Lander coordination)

French Education Code - legifrance.gouv.fr (République française national curriculum, Republican school values)

England Schools Act - legislation.gov.uk (England Ofsted inspections, national curriculum, teacher standards)

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does the United States rank in global education quality?

As of 2023, the United States ranks 26th among the top 35 countries in education quality, with an Education Quality Index of 82.5. This places the U.S. below many peer nations despite its significant investment in education.

Why does the US score lower in education quality than countries like Finland and South Korea?

The U.S. faces structural challenges including unequal school funding tied to local property taxes, inconsistent teacher preparation standards across states, curriculum fragmentation across 50 independent state systems, and lower PISA scores in mathematics and science compared to top-ranked East Asian and Nordic nations.

How does Finland achieve such high education quality rankings?

Finland requires all teachers to hold a master's degree, funds schools through an equalization formula that reduces socioeconomic disparities, and prioritizes critical thinking and student well-being over standardized testing. Special education is embedded in mainstream classrooms through a three-tier support model ensuring no student is left behind.

What has South Korea done to improve its education system?

South Korea mandates nine years of free compulsory education, uses a national tracking system called NEIS to monitor student progress and resource allocation, and invests in AI-based tutoring platforms through its EduTech initiative. The government also enacted special legislation to ensure inclusive schooling for persons with disabilities.

Is US education quality improving at all?

There are modest signs of improvement. The U.S. Education Quality Index is estimated to reach approximately 83.1 in 2024, reflecting incremental gains in NAEP reading scores and expanded access to early childhood programs. However, underlying structural challenges in funding equity and curriculum consistency persist.

What policy changes could help the US improve its education quality ranking?

Evidence from top-ranked countries suggests that equalizing school funding formulas, raising and standardizing teacher preparation requirements to include graduate-level training, and establishing a more coherent national curriculum framework could address the core gaps. Expanding early childhood education access and investing in inclusive special education models have also been linked to stronger long-term learning outcomes.

About the Author

Ronald Bonfilio has devoted his career to public service spanning more than five decades. His service began with the U.S. Army from 1966 to 1968, where he conducted medical laboratory research at Fort Detrick and at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. He subsequently held a distinguished series of federal positions, including roles with the National Cancer Institute, the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Agency for International Development (Vietnam), the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, and the U.S. State Department (Iraq), where he served as a Senior Economic Advisor and Agricultural Advisor. He also served 15 years with the U.S. Government Accountability Office as a Program Analyst and Auditor.

Ronald Bonfilio holds a degree in Economics from the University of Maryland, and degrees in Chemistry and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts. He is a former Certified Public Accountant.