The Kyrgyz Republic is a low-income country with a high percentage of secondary students; educational performance data are scarce. Most students in the Kyrgyz Republic are enrolled in public secondary schools in rural areas.The distribution of teachers is similar to that of the student population.The Kyrgyz Republic participated in the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) in 2006 and 2009.Local educational authorities are responsible for the majority of decision-making power.Public school teachers have the legal right to join a teacher organization and collective bargaining exists. There are eight policy goals as follows: (i) Setting clear expectations for teachers; (ii)Attracting the best into teaching; (iii) Preparing teachers with useful training and experience; (iv) Matching teachers' skills with students' needs; (v) Leading teachers with strong principals; (vi) Monitoring teaching and learning; (vii) Supporting teachers to improve instruction; (viii) Motivating teachers to perform.