The untold story of the primary cause of America’s education crisis–and the seemingly endless cycle of multigenerational poverty.

It was just after years within the education reform motion that Natalie Wexler stumbled across a hidden description for our country’s frustrating lack of progress when it comes to providing every kid with a quality education. The issue wasn’t one of the normal scapegoats: lazy educators, shoddy facilities, insufficient accountability. It was something no one was about The Knowledge Distance: The hidden reason behind America’s damaged education system–and how to fix it talking about: the elementary school curriculum’s intense focus on decontextualized reading understanding ‘skills’ at the trouble of actual understanding. In the custom of Dale Russakoff’s The Reward and Dana Goldstein’s The Teacher Wars, Wexler includes history, research, and compelling heroes to pull back the curtain on this fundamental flaw in our education system–one that fellow reformers, journalists, and policymakers have long overlooked, and of which the general public, including many parents, continues to be unaware.

But The Knowledge Gap is not only a tale of what colleges have gotten so wrong–it also follows innovative teachers who are in the process of shedding their deeply ingrained practices, and describes the rewards that have arrive: students who aren’t only excited to learn but will also be acquiring the data and vocabulary that may enable them to succeed. If we wish to repair our education program and unlock the potential of our neediest kids, we have no choice but to pay attention.