WASHINGTON, D.C., April 21, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE) today announced Georgia, Macao, Oman, Peru, and Qatar as its 2026 Global Rapid Risers. These five systems demonstrate that jurisdictions can improve quickly, and sustain that improvement, through thoughtful, intentional system change. NCEE invites leaders worldwide to learn from these systems who are showing real gains in improving student learning for all students.
This marks the second installment in NCEE’s 2026 global benchmarking series, following its analysis of the world’s highest-performing systems: Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Singapore, and Sweden. While that analysis highlights where excellence has been achieved and maintained, the Rapid Risers analysis focuses on how systems move—revealing what it takes to build momentum, expand opportunity, and sustain progress.
Each of the five Rapid Risers has delivered broad academic gains over the past decade and maintained those gains through the disruption of the global pandemic. Together, they offer a clear signal: meaningful improvement is not accidental. It is the result of deliberate choices, sustained focus, and increasingly coherent system design.
“High-performing systems show us what is possible,” said Vicki Phillips, CEO of NCEE. “Rapid Risers shows us how it happens. These systems are making disciplined choices about how they align policy, practice, and resources—and in doing so, they are accelerating progress in ways that are both measurable and durable.”
To be identified as a Rapid Riser, systems met rigorous criteria for both growth and resilience:
- Placed among the top ten in rate of improvement across reading, math, and science over multiple cycles of international assessments, including Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), and/or Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), leading up to 2019.
- Sustained those gains in at least two core subjects through and beyond the pandemic period.
“Rapid improvement at scale requires more than isolated reforms,” said Tracey Burns, Chief of Global Strategy and Research at NCEE. “These systems are strengthening coherence across their education architecture—connecting what they expect of learners with how they support educators, allocate resources, and measure progress. That alignment is what allows gains to take hold and endure.”
The Rapid Risers reinforce a central insight from NCEE’s global research: There is no fixed starting point for improvement. Systems at different stages of performance can make meaningful progress when they commit to a clear direction and design for it over time.
About the National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE)
NCEE is a global think-and-do tank at the intersection of education and the economy. We conduct deep research to discover the best ideas from the world's highest performing education systems. We design strategies for states and districts based on the global research that informs policy and improves practice. We deliver world-class leadership development through NISL NEXT.
For more information on the methodology and approach, visit the Rapid Riser profiles here.
Jenni Craw National Center on Education and the Economy 202-379-1800 jcraw@ncee.org
source: National Center on Education and the Economy
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