Op-ed looks at international education divide

In his May 26 op-ed in the Huffington Post, John Merrow, education correspondent for PBS NewsHour and author of "The Influence of Teachers," asks the question: "Is it possible that the U.S. has been heading in the wrong direction for most of the 30 years it has been focused on school reform?"

He refers to a paper written largely by Marc Tucker of the National Center for Education and the Economy, which considers the approaches taken by five high-performing places – Toronto, Japan, Norway, Shanghai and Singapore – and contrasts them with U.S. approaches.

Merrow also incorporates the work of ASU's Mari Koerner as the dean of the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at ASU. He writes: "At ASU, Dean Koerner explained, she has raised standards--so much so that she has lost students who were looking for an easy way to earn a diploma. ('Good riddance,' she implied.)"

Access the full Huffington Post article: "The international education divide"

To read Mari Koerner's op-ed that appeared in the Arizona Republic, click here.