I have read a couple of books from Diane Ravitch, including "The Death & Life of the Great American School System - how Testing and Choice are undermining Education". My conclusion is she is losing her marbles. She is against everything and for nothing - against NCLB(even though she helped create it), against Common Core, against Charters, against Vouchers, both for and against teachers' union, and her solution to all our education problem is...wait for it...fix poverty.
This current progressive trend of seeking equity over excellence is what's really killing our education system. People are born with different aptitude and drive. Closing the achievement gap just means holding down the ceiling while (failing to) raise the floor. My favorite books on education these days are:
1) The Feel Good Curriculum - the dumbing down of America's kids in the name of self-esteem by Maureen Stout
2) Bad Students Not Bad Schools by Robert Weissberg
3) Real Education: Four simple truths for bringing America's schools back to reality by Charles Murray
