Governments are paying increasing attention to international educational comparisons as they search for effective policies that enhance individuals’ social and economic prospects, provide incentives for greater efficiency in the provision of education, and help to mobilise resources to meet rising demands. In response to this need, the OECD devotes a major effort to the development and analysis of quantitative, internationally comparable indicators, which are published annually in Education at a Glance. These indicators enable educational policy makers and practitioners alike to see their education systems in the light of other countries’ performances.

New features in the 2009 edition include an extension of the analysis of the economic returns to education to social outcomes; new data on long-term unemployment and involuntary part-time work among young adults; an analysis of the spending choices that countries make between factors such as teacher compensation, instruction time and class sizes; an analysis on teaching practices as well as teacher appraisal and feedback based on TALIS; and a review of excellence in education for 15-year-olds based on PISA.

The term “tertiary education” is defined as higher education (HE). Indicators cover both the current performance of the HE system and the proportion of the adult population (25-to-64-year-olds) who have attained HE qualifications. There are splits by type of course – divided into vocational courses (such as IUT and STS) (Type B) and full-length (duration of more than three years) theory-based degrees (Type A), including bachelor and masters degrees and engineers schools. Graduation rate is defined as the ratio of tertiary graduates to the population at typical age of graduation.

www.oecd.org/dataoecd/41/13/43633742.pdf