Chapter 1 : Just how important is education?
Education and financial achievement
Education and poverty
Education and the nation's economic well-being
Testing student skills
Quality of U.S. colleges
Chapter 2 : U.S. education at a crossroads
Years of school completed
Achievement levels (or the mastery of cognitive skills)
International comparisons
Achievement gaps
Chapter 3 : The political responses
Increased spending and resources for K-12 education
Increased equity in funding for K-12 education
The standards and accountability movement
Increased school choice options
Teacher certification
Conclusions
Chapter 4 : Court interventions in school finance
Federal desegregation litigation and Milliken II remedies
"Equity" cases
"Adequacy" cases
Chapter 5 : Practical issues with educational adequacy
Defining an "adequate" education
The element of causation
Problems relating to remedy
Problems inherent in the makeup and processes of the courts
Chapter 6 : The effectiveness of judicial remedies
Kentucky
Wyoming
New Jersey
Massachusetts
Chapter 7 : Science and school finance decision making
A simple decision model
How much is enough?
How should the money be spent?
Using science more effectively
Chapter 8 : A performance-based funding system
Guiding principles : back to basics
A performance-based funding system
Big city schools
Conclusions
Chapter 9 : Making performance-based funding a reality
The persistence of illusory spending solutions
Support for the status quo and resistance to change
Some current countervailing forces
Encouraging true reform : mutually agreed bargains
Changing the focus of the courts
Mobilizing for the future.