The Knowledge Gap: The hidden cause of America's broken education system--and how to fix it

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The Knowledge Gap: The hidden cause of America's broken education system--and how to fix it

This book is well written and author Natalie Wexler seems to know her stuff even though she is a journalist rather than an education expert. Her online bio does not mention her having ever run a classroom. On the one hand, 60 pages in I absolutely loved this book as I found it substantive and persuasive. On the other hand, the rest of the book didn't add anything. In my opinion this could and should have been a briefer read.But my biggest critique is that the book's subtitle, "The Hidden Cause of America's Broken Education System and How to Fix It," is a raging overpromise. Our broken education system has a complex multitude of causes. The method by which low-income students are taught to read in elementary school -- while important -- is only one of them.For a full analysis of what's wrong with America's public schools and how to fix them, a more thoughtful and comprehensive read is "Save Our Schools...and America too" by Stephen Weintraub, who is a former management consultant turned award-winning high school teacher. His book delivers on Wexler's failed promise. I read them the same week and "Save Our Schools" won hands-down.