Last week, Vietnam's National Assembly held its first ever National Education Conference with planning and financial support from USAID. With nearly 200 participants from academia, government, scholars, scientists, and development partners, the conference aimed to connect research, policy development, and lawmaking in order to bring education closer to the realities of life in a dynamic knowledge-based economy. At a time when Vietnam continues to face less than 60% upper secondary school completion, it is clear that certain populations continue to fall through the cracks, namely the rural poor and ethnic minorities. Participants discussed specific policy levers available to address these challenges, such as targeted support for vulnerable students, and full-day schooling without voluntary contributions. They also discussed the need to overhaul an existing curriculum in place for the past 17 years and to promote world-class models for education that will support Vietnam’s transforming economy. So what? USAID’s support of this conference contributes to two of our ongoing objectives. One, promoting the National Assembly’s role from behind-the-scenes to a more public approach in the creation of public policy. Two, helping promote world class models for higher education in Vietnam.