The objective of this book is to advance our understanding of the design, implementation and evaluation of test-driven external accountability policies for improving both academic excellence and equity. This book provides new insights into debates about the efficacy of high-stakes testing through critical synthesis of previous studies and through systematic analysis of the achievement gap trends over the past 15 years. The core findings have implications for contemporary national and state policy efforts, as mandated by NCLB, to close the achievement gap. The book alerts readers to scientific, institutional and technical threats to the current test-driven school accountability system, and possible consequences if we fail to counteract those threats and continue the current policy course with underfunded mandates and an over-reliance on testing and sanctions.

- Explicit relevance to UN SDG Goal 4 and international agendas for equitable and inclusive education, including the UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Reports. - Unique focus on whole child education and holistic youth development in the context of global education reform, offering a contrast to existing literature in this area which has foregrounded international assessments and measurement of academic achievement and teacher quality. - Features contributors from Global North and Global South countries, offering comparative perspectives on global educational reform from the US, UK, Japan, China, India, New Zealand, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Korea, Singapore, France, and Finland.

- Explicit relevance to UN SDG Goal 4 and international agendas for equitable and inclusive education, including the UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Reports. - Unique focus on whole child education and holistic youth development in the context of global education reform, offering a contrast to existing literature in this area which has foregrounded international assessments and measurement of academic achievement and teacher quality. - Features contributors from Global North and Global South countries, offering comparative perspectives on global educational reform from the US, UK, Japan, China, India, New Zealand, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Korea, Singapore, France, and Finland.

The Anatomy of Achievement Gaps offers a critical analysis of underachievement problems in American education from interdisciplinary, international, and systems perspectives. The book has several aims: to build a new model of achievement gap research and policy; to provide evidence on the state and alterability of achievement gaps; to synthesize separate lines of domestic and international achievement gap research; and to evaluate and inform American P-16 (pre-school through college) education policies. In light of socioeconomic changes and educational paradigm shifts, Jaekyung Lee extends the scope of analysis from a K-12 to a P-16 education pipeline and from domestic racial/social groups to international groups, with focus on the case of South Korea. Through multilevel and longitudinal analyses of U.S. national and international datasets, The Anatomy of Achievement Gaps provides new evidence on the status and trends of achievement gaps, causes of these gaps, and the effects of policy interventions. In an effort to evaluate the nation's strengths and weaknesses across the P-16 education pipeline, it draws upon a wide range of educational data sources and indicators. Featuring cross-cultural perspectives beyond the U.S., Lee reframes achievement gap and educational accountability issues.

The objective of this book is to advance our understanding of the design, implementation and evaluation of test-driven external accountability policies for improving both academic excellence and equity. This book provides new insights into debates about the efficacy of high-stakes testing through critical synthesis of previous studies and through systematic analysis of the achievement gap trends over the past 15 years. The core findings have implications for contemporary national and state policy efforts, as mandated by NCLB, to close the achievement gap. The book alerts readers to scientific, institutional and technical threats to the current test-driven school accountability system, and possible consequences if we fail to counteract those threats and continue the current policy course with underfunded mandates and an over-reliance on testing and sanctions.