AIR Vice President Gary Phillips to Discuss Importance of International Benchmarking at Education Week’s “Quality Counts 2012” Event

Washington, D.C. – Dr. Gary Phillips, a vice president and senior researcher at the American Institutes for Research (AIR), will discuss international benchmarking’s importance in education during Education Week’s Quality Counts 2012 event on January 12, 2012, in Washington, D.C.

Quality Counts is Education Week's annual report on states’ efforts to improve public education. This year’s edition, The Global Challenge: Education in a Competitive World, examines the U.S. public education system and its relationships to those of other countries. It also provides perspectives on the political, social, and cultural changes that the U.S. faces in meeting an integrated world economy’s demands.

The event will feature keynotes from Pasi Sahlberg, Director General, Center for International Mobility (Finland), and former U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings. Featured panelists include Mary Jean Gallagher (Deputy Assistant Minister, Ontario Ministry of Education), Anthony Jackson (Vice President, Education Asia Society), Mark Tucker (President, National Center on Education and the Economy), and Emiliana Vegas (Lead Education Economist, The World Bank).

The event, supported by AIR, will take place at the Pew Charitable Trusts (901 E St. NW, Ninth Floor, Washington, DC) from 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. Register online or contact Kacy Sellers at CommDesk@epe.org.

The full Quality Counts report will be available on Education Week’s website, www.edweek.org.

About AIR
Established in 1946, with headquarters in Washington, D.C., the American Institutes for Research (AIR) is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization that conducts behavioral and social science research and delivers technical assistance both domestically and internationally in the areas of health, education, and workforce productivity. For more information, visit www.air.org.

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