Education in the Twenty-First Century

''Use what works and throw out what fails the child. This simple maxim presents a compelling measure of the need for change, for to follow it would amount to a revolution!''—from the foreword by George P. Schultz Few issues today are more important in the United States than improving education. The recognition of the failures in our schools and the importance of correcting those problems have led to a great national debate on what works and what does not work. In this volume, a range of Hoover Institution scholars continues the search for the right answers, offering evidence, insights, and ideas on the key policy questions affecting education. Those scholars discuss a range of areas that includes such widely debated topics as national exams, accountability, performance, school funding, and other vital issues. The book's thought-provoking contributions include the work of some of the most respected experts in the field. Paul Romer reveals why vouchers have not been politically successful despite most economists' belief that they are an efficient way to fund schooling. Thomas Sowell shows how the political and public school establishments have ignored the evidence on the education of minority children—with increasingly negative consequences. Jennifer Roback Morse explains how schools undermine the parent-child relationship—and outlines the policy changes that could reverse this trend. Throughout the book, the contributors detail the importance of education to both the individual and society as a whole, shedding light on what education does, on various ways to structure education, on lessons that can be learned from the past, and on how much can be accomplished in the future.