The unspoken American promise is that each generation will lead a better, more successful life than the previous one. In earlier times, it was an education that provided the next generations a better life. For today's children, though, decades of failed school reform have left a generation wondering if this promise has been broken. Despite policies, programs, and resources, American education does not live up to its expectations. In Screwed-Up School Reform, Richard G. Shear and Bruce S. Cooper reveal that generations of school reforms have actively worked to cure the symptoms of "broken schools, " but not the overarching, fundamental problems that permeate the system. Virtually an entire society has failed to understand the main problem with American education: children are rejecting its practices and conditions. But, the screwed-up education system is fixable, and it can be fixed now. If reformers focus instead on changing education's foundation, then children will instead succeed at school and in their personal lives.