A very depressing book. Ravitch, who once supported the concept of national testing and No Child Left Behind, speaks out against such philosophies in her book as time passed and they proved ineffective. She divides the issues -- testing, restructuring the schools, charter schools and how they are set up now, relying on grants and funds from a few powerful men to set educational change -- by chapter. The book is easy to follow and the data seems concrete and supported. There were few surprises in here, although the impact of the charter schools on the nation's Catholic schools was surprising to me. I guess the depressing thing is that the bulk of her arguments have been what educators and those who follow education have been saying for the past several years. I do have to give Ravitch credit for admitting she was wrong. Her solutions at the end make for a good start, but aren't anything concrete, beyond focusing on a range of topics, smaller class sizes and doing more hands-on activities. Don't get me wrong -- it's a must-read for those who follow education topics. The arguments are well-presented. For the most part, I agreed with Ravitch and the few times I disagreed were on minor points (I think at one point, she expresses concern that the effect of NCLB might be to privatize the bulk of the educational system. She mentions she is certain the legislators didn't mean for this unintentional result. Call me cynical, but I say baloney -- I think there are legislators whose aim is to do just that).