Description: This book relates a sad tale of the failure of public education to live up to its promise as the great equalizer in the US. Stotsky (emer., Univ. of Arkansas) lays out the kinds of social, political, fiscal, and educational problems that have led to a general lack of post-high school readiness for college, the workforce, and civic engagement. There is no doubt that the issues she raises, from the absence of a rigorous curriculum to disengaged caregivers and students, the quality of teacher preparation, and political agendas, all play a role. What is missing, however, is a clear set of guidelines for turning this ship around. Stotsky rightly argues that "gap closing" in and of itself is not a viable educational goal because there never has been any consensus on what Americans, as a nation, mean by achievement, much less on how to attain or measure it.Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates.

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