If we speak with the best teachers in America, with any employer interested in the trainability and work performance of new employees, or with parents who are concerned about how well their children are being prepared for the challenges of the future, we will notice a common thread wending its way through each dialogue: Our schools are failing to educate our children as well as is needed. "Notes on Education" goes to the front lines in our schools to examine some of the key elements that are contributing to a continuing stagnation, if not decline, in the quality of K-12 education in the...