Ben Wildavsky’s Wall Street Journal review of Real Education is much better than this. One point: Wildavsky worries that in Murray’s system, capable students will be tracked, early on in their educational careers, into academically undemanding courses and eventually similar jobs. Those who, with a little tough love and nurturing and fine teaching, could have become doctors and lawyers will end up mechanics and plumbers.

While determinative tracking is a bad idea, it is not a bad idea to allow pupils who want to be mechanics and plumbers—regardless of their academic potential—to be... mechanics and plumbers. Instead, we shuttle them as 16-, 17-, and 18-year-olds into college-preparatory classes that they don’t enjoy and they feel are wastes of time. Seriously, let’s give these near-adults some educational and vocational options and quit shoving college down their throats. Murray’s book makes some solid and compelling points about this that Wildavsky ignores.