This paper examines secondary schools in countries other than the United States to show the diversity of secondary school systems that operate within the industrialized world. The six countries are Australia, Germany, France, Japan, Sweden, and Great Britain. The descriptions are organized according to country and area of focus--learner outcomes, learning process (curriculum, instruction, assessment), organization, partnerships with the community, staffing, physical facilities, and cost. Each country description concludes with a section on implications for school design in the United States. A table gives an across-the-board comparison of the most important points in each country section. This information is arranged according to the key words or key phrases that most accurately represent the main theme of each area of focus for each country. An analysis of table similarities highlights the following common themes among the countries: need to satisfy the requirements of the work force, notion of development of the whole personality of the individual, provision of equality of opportunity to all citizens, a nationally prescribed core curriculum, various degrees of centralized management, and transition from school to work as a priority. The paper concludes with a list of implications for school design in the United States. A list of 26 references, a 35-item bibliography, and an appendix documenting procedures and sources used in data collection are provided. (YLB)