At a time when globalization and technology are dramatically altering the world we live in, is education reform in the United States heading down the right path? Are schools emphasizing the knowledge and skills that students need in a global society--are schools actually undermining their strengths by overemphasizing high-stakes testing and standardization? Are education systems in China and other countries really as superior as some people claim? Yong Zhao, born and raised in China and now a professsor at Michigan State University, bases many of his observations on his firsthand experience as a student in China and as a parent of children attending school in the United States.