One reason that well-intentioned policies fail is that they are often designed by elites who do not face the same constraints as the policies’ target populations. For instance, a policymaker might provide free textbooks with good intentions, without considering the possibility that most students are so far behind grade-level standards that they may not even be able to read the textbook. Similarly, adding a teacher to reduce class sizes may be of limited use if the teacher focuses on completing the textbook and syllabus while student learning levels are far behind. These examples illustrate how
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