This volume contains the report of research carried out at the request of the US Department of Education's Office of Educational Research and Improvement, the National Research Council (which was responsible for this publication), and the Office of Special Education programs, among others. Many of the papers were first delivered at a workshop at the National Academy of Science in April 1999. The findings of the report are summarized in an initial chapter; subsequent chapters report on the topics of the science of learning, individual and cultural variations and their effect on learning, an assessment of preschool programs in the US, curriculum and pedagogy, standardized assessment, teacher training, and program and practice standards. Each chapter is supported with statistics and references to other studies. A comprehensive bibliography is included. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)