Twenty-five years after the seminal report "A Nation at Risk," American education remains in a state of crisis. Millions of students continue to pass through the public schools without mastering basic skills and knowledge. Policymakers and the public must recognize both this persistent failure and the attendant need for systemic reform in American education. Federal policymakers should limit federal intervention and restore greater state and local authority. State policymakers should expand parental choice and implement reforms to hold schools and students accountable. (Contains 51 footnotes and 2 charts.)