All of us, whether we are South Americans, North Americans, Asians, Europeans or Africans, understand that our peoples need an increasing amount of knowledge to succeed in a complex global technology-based economy. Heightened economic competition between nations, which is important if consumers are able to get the best goods at the best prices, has made it more necessary than ever to have well-educated workforces. Because of this necessity, governments around the world have realized that public school systems must be held accountable for the achievement or lack of achievement of students. The issue that I would like to address today is how best to craft an effective school accountability system.