The current debate over standards between Moscow Municipal Schools and the Russian Federal government. This hinges on the degree to which students need to be motivated by the curriculum. The standard favored by the Moscow school system is that of a 'world standard' sought by all large urban school systems experiencing difficulty motivating children. The European Union's trade policy and its educational applications. Open economies require free trade.
Free trade implies economic competition, including competition in labor markets.
This requires adaptation and restructuring of educational institutions. Competition in higher education. These individual country standards are of the second type, that of ideal norms. Measures of learning are now expected to be sensitive to curriculum content, performance expectations, and learning opportunity. This new standard is of the third type, that of a minimum.