The UK looks to the OECD as one of the premier international organisations for providing international comparisons and examples of best practice. The organisation produces several education flagship publications such as the annual Education at a Glance and the Programme for International Students Assessment (PISA), which reports every three years on the knowledge and skills of students who are about to reach the end of their compulsory schooling. 
 
The Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) is a new survey under development which will assess the skills, attitudes and knowledge of adults aged 16 to 64. The first survey should be carried out in 2011.
 
High level meetings, such as the 2006 Athens Ministerial meeting on Higher Education or the Education Chief Executive Officers meetings, allow the UK to influence the direction of the OECD's work on education, ensuring the organisation can address its members’ policy priorities and challenges. The UK regularly participates in the OECD's policy reviews and analytic reports which cover the whole education spectrum from Early Childhood Education and Care through to Adult Skills and Lifelong Learning.