When the Left Meets the Scientific Literature

Interesting in that from a reading of the scientific literature on the inheritability of much of academic ability (and other monetizable qualities in the current economy), the left can more persuasively arrive at more equitable policy positions. The traditional stubborn refusal of the left to countenance anything that deviates from the blank slate assumption is to its detriment, as the book makes clear. What was missing for me was a comparative approach to a central question of the book of how we might affect a change of course. To de-fetishize academic credentials. As a resident of Germany where academic school distinctions do not carry nearly as much cultural capital, more of a thorough discussion on immediate policy recommendations would have been welcomed (e. g. vocational training/Ausbuildung as a path to the middle class). Or, as mentioned in the book, how might the realization that 3rd grade ability/test scores which strongly predict eventual university success, be possibly utilized to argue for a European model where vocational training is introduced at an early age, early high school years, for example. The effective closing off of various avenues of future academic paths based on ability levels exhibited by students in their early teens, has always seemed a brutal European oddity. Lacking the accommodation of individual students to offer anything by way of surprise. However, how might one reconcile this with policy enacted with a group level analysis in mind (recall the 3rd grade indicators as the strongest predictor of future behavior)? Over all, interesting book, well narrated.

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