INES Project

Introduction

NCES plays an active role in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) International Indicators of Education Systems (INES) Project. The INES Project began in 1988 in response to national policy makers' desire for information that would allow them to compare the performance of their education systems with those of other countries and thus better assess and monitor the effectiveness and evolution of their education systems.

The INES Project develops a system of indicators for cross-national comparisons in education. Specifically, it:

• develops, collects, analyzes, and interprets a set of key indicators for international comparisons disseminated through its annual publications: Education at a Glance and Education Policy Analysis;
• provides a forum for international cooperation and exchange of information about methods and practices of developing and using educational indicators for national policymaking and managing education systems; and
• contributes to assessment methodology and practice to develop more valid, reliable, and comprehensive indicators, and to gain a better understanding of their use in policymaking.

The work of INES is carried out by three Networks and a Technical Group, each of which has voluntary membership and is focused on a different charge:

• Network A, chaired by the United States, develops indicators on learning outcomes;
• Network B, chaired by Sweden, develops indicators of the social and economic outcomes of education;
• Network C, chaired by the Netherlands, develops indicators on structures and processes of schools;
• The Technical Group, chaired by the OECD Secretariat, ensures the comparability of administrative data, developing indicators on educational participation, access, human and financial resources, and school completion; and

In addition, a Task Force on Teaching and Learning, jointly established by Network A and C member countries, concluded its work to develop a strategy for collecting information on teaching and learning for the INES Project. A first activity is a survey of teachers across different levels of schooling on their working conditions and practices. Additionally, Networks A and C continue to be interested in further developing the long-term components of the strategy, which focused more directly on instructional practices and effectiveness.

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