In this book, several Hoover Institution scholars search for the answers to failures in U.S. schools and examine the debate over what works and what does not work. Such widely debated topics as national examinations, accountability, performance, and school funding are discussed. The importance of education to both the individual and society as a whole, shedding light on what education does, various ways to structure education, lessons learned from the past, and what can be accomplished in the future are detailed. After the foreword (George P. Schultz) and "Introduction" (Edward P. Lazear), the first section, "Education and Income" discusses: "The Age of Human Capital" (Gary S. Becker); "Education as a Determinant of Economic Growth" (Robert J. Barro); "The Value of Education: Evidence from around the Globe" (Robert E. Hall); and "Redistributional Consequences of Educational Reform" (Paul M. Romer). The second section, "Education and Society," includes: "The Education of Minority Children" (Thomas Sowell); "Educating Black Students" (Shelby Steele); "Delivering Education" (Andrew J. Coulson); and "Competing Visions of the Child, the Family, and the School" (Jennifer Roback Morse). Information on the contributors and an index are included. (SM)