This volume summarizes a range of scientific perspectives on the important goal of achieving high educational standards for all students. Based on a conference held at the request of the U.S. Department of Education, it addresses three questions: What progress has been made in advancing the education of minority and disadvantaged students since the historic Brown v. Board of Education decision nearly 50 years ago? What does research say about the reasons of successes and failures? What are some of the strategies and practices that hold the promise of producing continued improvements? The volume draws on the conclusions of a number of important recent NRC reports, including How People Learn, Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children, Eager to Learn, and From Neurons to Neighborhoods, among others. It includes an overview of the conference presentations and discussions, the perspectives of the two co-moderators, and a set of background papers on more detailed issues. Table of Contents Front Matter Part I: Conference Summary: 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 6 Linking Research and Practice References Part II: Perspectives of the Co-Moderators: Overview Education Reform in Context: Research, Politics, and Civil Rights Part III: Conference Papers: Trends in the Educational Achievement of Minority Students Since Brown v. Board of Education Why Racial Integration and Other Policies Since Brown v. Board of Education Have Only Partially Succeeded at Narrowing the Achievement Gap Education, Adequacy, Democracy, and the Courts Appendix A: Conference and Workshop Agendas Appendix B: Biographical Sketches of Conference Presenters