Includes bibliographical references and index.

Thinking about education in a different way -- Myths about achievement and aptitude -- Other myths about American schools -- Why now? -- Poor ideas for reform -- Real problems of American education -- Toward the improvement of education -- Fundamentals of school improvement: research and compassion.

Over the past decade a rising chorus of critics - from William Bennett to Allan Bloom - has decried the supposedly dire state of our public schools. Kids aren't learning what they should, violence and chaos reign in the classroom, and bureaucracy strangles attempts at reform. But how much of that grim image is really true?