This book advances a program for national educational reform by arguing that the nation already has a national curriculum by default, which is based on advance placement examinations, textbook publishers, and college admissions requirements that must be replaced by national goals that preserve local control through national coordination of portions of the curriculum, organization, and staffing. The argument suggests that if a portion of the curriculum was coordinated nationally, it might be possible to have more genuine local options with state and regional variations. The central suggestion for change is a national system of experimental schools controlled by a balance of federal, state, and local power, having a predictable framework and allowing long-term experimentation and program evaluation. Participation by both staff and students in such a network would be voluntary. The following are the titles of the book's 12 chapters: (1) "The Need for Nationally Sponsored Experimental Schools"; (2) "School Reform Movements: Tinkering with the System"; (3) "Transforming Schools: A National Perspective"; (4) "Experimental School Governance: National, State, and Local"; (5) "Accountability and Incentive"; (6) "Teachers and Staffing"; (7) "Curriculum"; (8) "Technology in Education"; (9) "Teacher Education"; (10) "Community Involvement in School Programs and Structures"; (11) "Resources"; and (12) "Previewing the Future." Included is a selected bibliography of 108 references. (JB)