Despite widespread recognition that school systems need to do profoundly better, those seeking improvement have been persistently frustrated by the mediocre results of popular reforms. School and system leaders, policy-makers, and funders lack clear guidance as to the steps necessary to dramatically and effectively transform an educational ecosystem. Would-be reformers need a playbook outlining clear strategies for rethinking outdated approaches to school and system governance, resource allocation, quality control, talent management, and data use for the 21st century.

In this volume, a team of national experts addresses the major elements necessary for system redesign, describing in detail the steps needed at the community, school, district, and state level by which to achieve it.

Frederick M. Hess is an educator, political scientist, and author who serves as director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute. His books include Cage-Busting Leadership, Education Unbound, and Spinning Wheels, and he writes the popular Education Week blog "Rick Hess Straight Up." A former high school teacher, Hess currently teaches at Rice University and the University of Pennsylvania and serves as executive editor for the influential education journal Education Next.

Carolyn Sattin-Bajaj is assistant professor of education policy and research and co-director of the Center for College Readiness at Seton Hall University. Her research on school choice, immigrant students, and educational equity has appeared in a variety of academic journals and popular media outlets, and a book based on her most recent study of high school choice in New York City will be published in Spring 2014.