What Really Works
Kuala Lumpur--Interesting how what generates buzz outside the US is rarely the same thing as what preoccupies leaders inside. McKinsey & Co. recently released a report entitled, "How the world’s most improved school systems keep getting better," using PISA scores in OECD countries as a metric for studying what makes for a high-performing school and some of their findings are both counter-intuitive and surprising. Few in the US talk about the study, but lurking within are some important and useful observations.The chart below taken from the report plots cost of living-corrected expenses per student against PISA scores. Spending matters up to a point, and then beyond that point more money does not translate into better student performance. Rather, according to McKinsey, it is how the school uses money that is the lever that facilitates change. Technology spending matters little, while professional development for teachers matters most of all. 
The biggest shock for parents in independent schools is that class size mattered little. It's not the size and not the spending (up to a point). It is teachers and teaching that really makes a difference.