Transitions to K-12 Education Systems: Experiences from Five Case Countries

With more than 140 countries currently offering or in transition to a kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12) school education system, this study explores the experiences of four countries-Mongolia, the Philippines, Poland, and Turkey-and one Canadian province, Ontario, in preparing and implementing K-12 systems. Lessons learned from the five diverse jurisdictions are (i)align the education system with macropolicies, (ii) view transition to K-12 as part of a package of reforms, (iii)prioritize student learning improvement, (iv)consider teacher development as critical, (v) avoid high-stakes examinations, and (vi) focus on higherorder curriculum and assessments.