European Project on Short Unofficial Summary Chair of the Ems Committee on Mathematics Education Reference Levels in School Mathematics in Europe

This short unofficial summary seeks to convey-A sense of the variety to be found in different countries;-Some of the most striking similarities and differences between countries;-Some interesting examples. For precise information readers must consult the national reports (which contain many fascinating details), the official report, and the more complete documentation from national and regional Ministries of Education-much of which has been collected in the project's documentation centre in Besançon. This summary deliberately tries to unify and simplify what is in fact a very complicated picture; it is therefore intended only as a starting point, providing beginners with a broad general picture: it should definitely *not-be used as a formal reference. In particular, the summary errs on the side of trying to invent a common language (of ages and approximate "grades", and of school phases) which does not conform exactly to any of the systems described, but which is only meant to be correct "to a first approximation". In reality, the systems being described differ widely in-the age at which compulsory schooling begins and ends;-in the way the time spent in school is broken up into "cycles";-in the place (if any) given to vocational schools or programmes;-in the way different types of school are classified; and-in the social and political traditions which underlie their individual characteristics. The true picture is made even more complicated by the fact that a surprising number of the educational systems surveyed are currently in a state of transition.