Curriculum coherence and national control of education: issue or non-issue?

Recent studies show that national control of K-12 curriculum yields important payoffs in terms of greater curricular coherence and, as a result, higher test performance on international tests such as those used in the Third International Mathematics and Science Study. This paper examines the connection between national control of curriculum and curricular consistency and coherence, a variable known to have a positive impact on student test-score performance. The results of several analyses reveal that national control of curriculum, viewed apart from the most important 'function' associated with such control (i.e. enhanced credibility), makes no contribution to curricular consistency or coherence.