I don't think the problem is that kids can't read at a basic level. The problem is that they can't read at a level that is considered by educators, policymakers

I don't think the problem is that kids can't read at a basic level. The problem is that they can't read at a level that is considered by educators, policymakers and others to be an age-appropriate level. I agree that the vitriolic "blame the parents" rhetoric is just as harmful as the "blame the teachers", "blame the unions", "blame the evolutionists" and all the other misguided rhetoric out there. That being said, when you take two schools that do the same things, one where the kids come from affluent and well-educated families and the other where the kids aren't sure if they'll get dinner each night, the differences are obvious. The rich(er) kids almost always do better. I don't think we need to "blame" anyone. In fact, I don't even know if there is anyone to blame. What I meant by my comment was that we've fiddled with the curriculum and the schools constantly for decades and it doesn't really seem to matter much, so perhaps we ought to start looking at other options. Let the teachers teach and see if we can solve some of the performance issues at the other end. For example, maybe college-educated parents are able to help their kids with homework more effectively. Then we should provide more tutoring outside of school. Or, maybe wealthier families are more likely to be able to provide kids with a quiet place to do their homework and study. Then we ought to be building libraries in poor neighborhoods. Heck, I've even read that where you build the school buildings can make a difference. Building them in town, rather than out in a corn field somewhere outside of town being better for community cohesion. This could certainly be a salient issue in rural areas. I really don't know what the problem is, or how to fix it, but it seems pretty clear to me that we should be looking beyond just the schools themselves when we talk about "fixing" the education system. P.S. The school lunch program and Head Start were actually intended to target these sorts of issues. Not sure how successful they were. I seem to recall reading that Head Start ended up being a failure overall.