The Lost Decade: Returning to the Fight for Better Schools in America

by Steven F. Wilson

"Social justice education," the decade's de facto K-12 school reform strategy, is harming the very students it aims to help, Steven F. Wilson argues in his provocative new book, The Lost Decade. The savage disparities in student outcomes and future prospects that the new education aims to overcome are worsening. If we are to at last build a just, equitable, and inclusive society, we must afford every child the education long granted the an expansive liberal arts education.

"In this searing and indispensable account, Wilson reveals how an intolerant social justice ideology has damaged public education and derailed successful reforms. Courageous and truth-telling, The Lost Decade is an urgent call to action, outlining a path forward to better schools by someone who has actually done it! —Ian V. Rowe, Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute

At the start of the decade, hundreds of new public schools were posting striking results, closing and even reversing longstanding gaps in student achievement and offering America's most marginalized students a reliable path to college and career. Each year, these "gap-closing" schools added 50,000 seats, equivalent to opening a new district the size of Boston's. The racial reckoning of 2020 could have spurred on this vital transformation. Instead, it arrested it. In the name of advancing social justice, educators turned away from the commitments that drove their success — high expectations, relentless attention to great teaching, and safe and orderly classrooms. An array of new conceptions rooted in critical theory — trauma-informed pedagogy, a culture of student fragility, and racial essentialism — overtook the K-12 sector. Students were inundated by messages of their oppression and incapacity. The faculty room turned rancorous and classrooms disorderly. Student outcomes nosedived.

In time, both social justice education and the backlash it has spawned on the right—DEI crackdowns, book bans, and teaching prohibitions—will end in failure, their ideas discredited, their forces spent. America's most marginalized students will be left less educated, more excluded, and more vulnerable. In The Lost Decade, Wilson offers an alternative course for American education. We can commit to equipping all children with a liberal arts education — an education that arouses curiosity, cultivates compassion, and upholds reason.

380 pages, Paperback

Published March 12, 2025

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 1 out of 5]

It appears that the first half of this book was written ten plus years ago, yet this book was published in 2025. The author presents both Rafe Esquith and Mike Feinberg (KIPP founder) as educational heroes. He fails to mention that both men have been engulfed in scandal in recent years due to behaviors that were creepy, entirely unprofessional, and most likely criminal.

The author’s overall point that some equity-based initiatives actually decrease positive outcomes for underprivileged students, may actually have some merit. Unfortunately, the author’s incredibly biased writing and total refusal to acknowledge Esquith and Feinberg’s scandals, totally undermines his credibility and calls into
question all of his main claims.

[Deborah Quazzo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steve Wilson has written an important book about the setbacks of the no excuses charter school movement. While there are points I don’t see fully eye to eye on, I do appreciate that many of the great charter schools allowed themselves to be distracted in the last decade and took their eye off the ball if delivering excellent education to ALL students. We see in Illinois how the performance bar is being lowered for all students by reducing cut scores. We need children to aspire to and achieve excellence and on that point I whole heartedly agree.

[Liz Cohen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent important book on school reform, charter schools, and where to focus if we really want all kids to learn more.