ABSTRACT
The context in which the project was launched is the move in many OECD countries to establish outcomes-oriented standards for education. The UK has been in the vanguard of this movement. The move from concern for educational processes to a preoccupation with outcomes seems to stem from a fairly widespread dissatisfaction with the performance of students, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say with the perceived mismatch between educational outcomes and society’s needs. From the contextual sections of the ten country reports it is evident that those OECD countries participating in the project share these concerns, to varying degrees. The studies show that performance standards cannot be considered in isolation from such factors as the recent expansion of
participation rates in upper secondary education or major changes in school organization and pedagogical methods. In most countries the pressure for higher standards is accompanied by budgetary constraints on educational expenditure.
