This series presents substantial results from around the globe in selected areas of educational research. The field of education is consistently on the top of priority lists of every country in the world, yet few educators are aware of the progress elsewhere. Many techniques, programs and methods are directly applicable across borders. Topics discussed herein include the need for school improvement; the impact of distance education in the digital age; bilingual education; foreign language learning; issues in high-stakes testing; and public education cost frontier models.