Large variations in the results from international assessments of science, math, and reading skills raise questions about the role of learning expectations for student performance. Learning expectations are often expressed as “standards” or are articulated in assessment frameworks for national or international studies: documents that spell out the content of what should be learned and that sometimes also suggest ways in which teaching ought to occur. The development of standards is challenging: they have to encompass societal agreement on the science content and on aspects of the way science works that should be included, how science should be taught, and what is required of an education system to fully support the demands of standards. In the United States and Canada, a process of redefining standards for science education is underway. While interest in standards has grown in recent years in many countries, questions about their development (such as, Who defines standards?) are accompanied by equally important questions about their role within the overall system of science and mathematics education: What does it take for standards to ultimately improve student performance? This session will feature an in-depth dialog on ways countries that share certain characteristics have approached the problem of using science education standards to improve the quality of teaching and learning.