Education’s reliance on improvements to the ‘production line of schooling’ through gains in teaching effectiveness and organisational efficiencies is also problematic. It looks backwards. As previously stated this improvement to the ‘factory production line’ is based on Taylorism. But learning is more than what is measured, and especially if what is measured is a standardised test.
Research that quantifies learning has become very important in the last two or three decades for school systems around the world. Its attractive because it is 'scientific,' it presents its evidence in such things as 'effect size' and comparisons, is marketed as 'what works' and provides something concrete for politicians and bureaucrats to talk about - data.
The research generated by the likes of Robert Marzano 
and John Hattie have made important contributions to the teaching profession. But it is often how they are adopted in the school that is the issue. Such research is important, but not sufficient in creating A New Narrative about schooling.
This is because it looks backward to how schools and learning was, sometimes as much as four decades ago, for its evidence. In doing so, it ignores any questioning that schooling, as we have designed it, is the right approach to learning. The analysis largely relies on test scores, which we now recognize are only part of what is important for student success.
It also fails to consider the changing world, new emerging fields, understanding and human knowledge and what lies ahead. Schools are highly complex systems and the numbers we have deemed important in evaluating them (e.g. PISA, NAPLAN, national standards and benchmarks) are but part of what is needed for humankind to thrive in the future.
We suggest success should be defined by how well we are preparing students as creative problem solvers, not just being top of an international comparison of test scores. We need A New Narrative.