Experts: high-performing systems combine coherence, future focus and teacher systems

Janice and Matt from the National Center on Education and the Economy reviewed an updated international benchmarking exercise that ranks jurisdictions by three pillars: academic excellence, equity and efficiency.

NCEE's broadened methodology includes multiple time points (PIRLS, TIMSS, PISA) and non-academic measures such as social-emotional indicators and adult outcomes. "High performers are notable because they don't wait for systems to become outdated. They build proactively," Janice said. Their top performers include systems with long-run consistency (Canada, Finland, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore) and some newer entrants (Denmark, Sweden, Ireland).

The presenters emphasized three common practices: (1) system coherence ' aligning policy, curriculum and assessment to clear goals; (2) future-focused design ' preparing students for an uncertain labor market through broad competencies; and (3) strategic investment in teacher quality and preparation. Commissioners raised questions about the scale and transferability of governance models and the links between educational design and regional economic outcomes.

Panel exchange highlighted ways Montana might adapt aspects of those systems without full replication: consolidating a narrower set of high-quality instructional materials, strengthening teacher residencies and apprenticeship pathways, and creating standing governance mechanisms or targeted, high-leverage initiatives that can sustain alignment across agencies and legislative cycles.

NCEE suggested the commission consider starting with a few visible, fundable priorities (teacher quality, early learning, pathways) and use iterative implementation teams to develop and test roadmaps. Commissioners and staff asked NCEE to provide short case studies and a checklist of governance models to help Montana choose feasible structures.