Rapid Risers: Acceleration by Design

What is a Rapid Riser?

“Across the globe, systems are facing similar education challenges, but some of them stand out. They make meaningful gains in student achievement, expand access, and narrow gaps. And importantly, they sustain that trajectory across time. These are what we call rapid risers.” –Vicki Phillips

So began a rich, wide-ranging discussion of how momentum can be built, what conditions make acceleration possible, and what these lessons might mean in our own contexts.

NCEE Chief of Global Strategy, Tracey Burns, kicked things off with an overview of the five jurisdictions that NCEE is highlighting as Rapid Risers: Peru, Georgia, Macao, Oman, and Qatar. These systems were selected based on their sustained, broad gains in reading, math, and science over the decade leading up to the pandemic, as well as their ability to maintain those gains through that disruption. Burns emphasized that these systems show that not only is progress possible, it can be engineered.

“They’re very different countries, of course… But what they all have is a very clear vision with a long-term commitment and the strategic planning behind it.” –Tracey Burns

Vicki Phillips, President and CEO at NCEE, then turned to a panel of experts to explore two of these systems, Qatar and Peru, in greater depth, beginning the purposeful policy shifts, systems design choices, and inflection points that accelerated the work in those countries.

Intentional Growth in Qatar

Mehdi Benchaabane, the Vice President of Pre-University Education of the Qatar Foundation, explained that Qatar’s trajectory started with three key pieces: setting  high expectations, a long-term vision, and a commitment to a transparent,  data-informed decision-making process. This allowed the country to move from increasing access to improving outcomes. Along the way, there has been a sustained focus on a more connected “ecosystem” within education. In practice, this meant bringing together schools, higher education, research institutions, and community organizations in ways that allow for greater collaboration and shared ownership of both the challenges and the progress within Qatar’s system.

“Making people feel that they are part of a nationwide mission was a very important piece. It was a bumpy ride… the big takeaway for me is that the top-down, rigid, hierarchical systems were not embraced in Qatar.”–Mehdi Benchaabane

Turning an Emergency into Sustained Momentum in Peru

Franco Mosso Cobián, founder of Enseña Peru, described a sense of urgency beginning in 2001 when the president of Peru declared a state of emergency within their education system. That initial urgency brought stakeholders to the table and led to a long-term vision for education. Over the next two decades and despite the political upheaval of 28 different education ministries, that initial momentum translated into consistent gains, driven in large part by a continued focus on improving teaching quality. This included increased investment in professional development, higher salaries and incentives for educators, attention to teacher well-being, and strengthening curriculum and instructional frameworks. Like Qatar, Peru’s progress required a culture of dialogue with large-scale citizen input and stronger lines of collaboration across national, regional, and local leadership. 

“National plans that transcend governments started to grow. We became better as a country at having participatory dialogue. The last plan involved, I think, close to a million citizens in coming up with the 15-year strategy.” –Franco Mosso Cobián

Lessons for the U.S.

Bringing the conversation to how these lessons might apply within the U.S., Joanne Weiss, former chief of staff at the Department of Education, pointed out that states are where this work must take hold. She emphasized that real progress depends on coherence and focus. This means aligning around a few clear priorities rather than pursuing fragmented initiatives. Weiss noted emerging bright spots like the nationwide push on early literacy and growing attention to improving math instruction, as well as states like Tennessee where education has been de-politicized to allow for progress across government changes. For Weiss, success ultimately hinges on strong implementation that carries through from policy to classroom practice,

“So much of the time, we focus on vision and strategy, and we think we’re done. And the work to then implement that all the way through the chain that goes from the national or state level all the way down through the school boards, the districts, the schools…You can trace these problems and reforms to the place where that chain broke.” –Joanne Weiss

Looking to the Future

“I feel that students in Peru, largely, are still not ending school, seeing themselves as the builders of a nation… The thing that they think about the most is survival, getting a job, paying the bills. But I have seen that start to shift. I’ve seen it locally, I’ve seen it in entire regions, I’ve seen it in entire districts. It is possible to shift.” –Franco Mosso Cobián

As the discussion closed, the panel turned to the possibilities and challenges that lay ahead. And the challenges are not small. They include navigating instability and disruption, rethinking traditional schooling in the age of AI, strengthening school-to-work transitions amid high youth unemployment, and reaching the most underserved students. Yet the broader message from all panelists is one of hope. Both Qatar and Peru are proof that progress is possible, even in the face of extreme challenges. 

“Education is about hope, right? So, I mean, if you’re in education, that’s the message of hope.” –Mehdi Benchaabane