This book presents proceedings and papers from a conference on racial and ethnic disparities in K-12 education and identifies key issues for policy and research. Part 1 summarizes the conference in six chapters: (1) "Introduction"; (2) "Education and the Changing Nation"; (3) "How People Learn"; (4) "Social Dimensions of Learning"; (5) "Policy and the Education of Minority and Disadvantaged Students"; and (6) "Linking Research and Practice." Part 2 presents the perspectives of the co-moderators: "Overview" (Catherine E. Snow) and "Education Reform in Context: Research, Politics, and Civil Rights" (Christopher Edley, Jr.). Part 3 presents the three conference papers: "Trends in the Educational Achievement of Minority Students since Brown v. Board of Education" (Kim M. Lloyd, Marta Tienda, and Anna Zajacova); "Why Racial Integration and Other Policies since Brown v. Board of Education Have Only Partially Succeeded at Narrowing the Achievement Gap" (Ronald E. Ferguson and Jal Mehta); and "Education Adequacy, Democracy, and the Courts" (Michael A. Rebell). The conference and workshop agendas and biographical sketches of conference presenters are appended. (Papers contain references.) (SM)