<b> <b>The untold story of the root cause of America's education crisis--and the seemingly endless cycle of multigenerational poverty.</b> </b><br /><br />It was only after years within the education reform movement that Natalie Wexler stumbled across a hidden explanation for our country's frustrating lack of progress when it comes to providing every child with a quality education. The problem wasn't one of the usual scapegoats: lazy teachers, shoddy facilities, lack of accountability. It was something no one was talking about: the elementary school curriculum's intense focus on decontextualized reading comprehension skills at the expense of actual <i>knowledge</i>. In the tradition of Dale Russakoff's <i>The Prize </i>and Dana Goldstein's <i>The Teacher Wars</i>, Wexler brings together history, research, and compelling characters to pull back the curtain on this fundamental flaw in our education system--one that fellow reformers, journalists, and policymakers have long overlooked, a