The flat world, educational inequality, and America's future. Education in our flat and changing world ; How America is losing ground ; How policy can matter ; The legacy of educational inequality ; What must be done? -- The anatomy of inequality : how the opportunity gap is constructed. Poverty and lack of social supports ; Limited early learning opportunities ; Resegregation and unequal schooling ; Unequal access to qualified teachers ; Lack of access to high-quality curriculum ; Dysfunctional learning environments -- New standards and old inequalities : how testing narrows and expands the opportunity gap. The prospects and pitfalls of standards-based reform ; Testing without investing ; When new standards meet ongoing inequalities -- Inequality on trial : does money make a difference? The legality of unequal school funding ; How money makes a difference ; Litigating for adequacy ; Under what conditions can money matter? -- A tale of three states : what happens when states invest strategically (or don't) ; The cases of Connecticut and North Carolina: strategic resources used well ; The case of California: when mismanagement meets aggressive neglect ; The moral of the stories -- Steady work : how countries build successful systems. The Finnish success story ; Korea's climb to extraordinary attainment ; How Singapore became a "learning nation" ; Educational leap frog: the common practices of steeply improving countries -- Doing what matters most : developing competent teaching. A global contrast ; Building an infrastructure for quality teaching -- Organizing for success : from inequality to quality. The need for major redesign ; Designing schools for teaching and learning ; Creating systems of successful schools -- Policy for quality and equality : toward genuine school reform. Meaningful student learning ; Intelligent, reciprocal accountability ; Equitable and adequate resources ; Strong professional practice ; Schools organized for student and teacher learning ; Conclusion.