Amanda Ripley is the New York Times bestselling author of The Smartest Kids in the World, High Conflict, and The Unthinkable. She writes for The Atlantic, Politico, The Washington Post, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal, among other publications.
“[Ripley] gets well beneath the glossy surfaces of these foreign
cultures and manages to make our own culture look newly strange…The
question is whether the startling perspective provided by this
masterly book can also generate the will to make changes.”
*New York Times Book Review*
“Compelling . . . What is Poland doing right? And what is America
doing wrong? Amanda Ripley, an American journalist, seeks to answer
such questions in The Smartest Kids in the World, her fine new book
about the schools that are working around the globe ….Ms. Ripley
packs a startling amount of insight in this slim book.”
*The Economist*
“[T]he most illuminating reporting I have ever seen on the
differences between schools in America and abroad.”
*Jay Mathews, education columnist, The Washington Post*
“[The Smartest Kids in the World is] a riveting new book….Ripley’s
policy recommendations are sensible and strong….The American school
reform debate has been desperately in need of such no-nonsense
advice, which firmly puts matters of intellect back at the center
of education where they belong.”
*The Daily Beast*
“The Smartest Kids in the World should be on the back-to-school
reading list of every parent, educator and policymaker interested
in understanding why students in other countries outperform U.S.
students on international tests.”
*US News & World Report*
“Gripping….Ripley's characters are fascinating, her writing style
is accessible, and her observations are fresh….If you're interested
in how to improve public schools, read Ripley's book today.”
*The Huffington Post*
“In riveting prose...this timely and inspiring book offers many
insights into how to improve America’s mediocre school system.”
*Publishers Weekly, starred review*
"If you care about education, you must read this book. By
recounting what three intrepid kids learned from the rest of the
world, it shows what we can learn about how to fix our schools.
Ripley's delightful storytelling has produced insights that are
both useful and inspiring."
*Walter Isaacson, author of Steve Jobs and Benjamin Franklin*
“This book gives me hope that we can create education systems of
equity and rigor—if we heed the lessons from top performing
countries and focus more on preparing teachers than on punishing
them."
*Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation of Teachers*
“This is a no-nonsense, no-excuses book about how we can improve
outcomes for all kids, from the poorest to the wealthiest. It
avoids platitudes and ideology and relies instead on the
experiences of students.”
*Joel Klein, CEO, Amplify, and former chancellor, New York
Department of Education*
“Amanda Ripley observes with rare objectivity and depth. She finds
a real and complex world ‘over there’—schools with flaws of their
own but also real and tangible lessons about how to do better by
our kids. The Smartest Kids in the World gave me more insights, as
a parent and as an educator, than just about anything else I’ve
read in a while.”
*Doug Lemov, author of Teach Like a Champion*
“Such an important book! Amanda Ripley lights the path to engaging
our next generation to meet a different bar. She makes an enormous
contribution to the national and global discussion about what must
be done to give all our children the education they need to invent
the future.”
*Wendy Kopp, founder and chair, Teach For America, and CEO, Teach
For All*
"The Smartest Kids in the World is a must read for anyone concerned
about the state of American public education. By drawing on
experiences, successes, and failures in education systems in the
highest-performing countries across the globe, Amanda Ripley lays
out a course for what we must do to dramatically improve our
nation's schools.”
*Michelle Rhee, Founder and CEO of StudentsFirst*
“Ripley’s stirring investigation debunks many tenets of current
education reform.”
*BookPage*
“In lively, accessible prose….Ripley’s book looks at the data from
a new perspective. Those stunned parents and teachers in New York
State and elsewhere would do well to read this book first if they
are inclined to blame their children’s/students’ poor results on a
new test.”
*OECD “Education Today” Blog*
“[Ripley] is a compelling storyteller who deftly plaits humorous
anecdotes and hard data to whip you in the face with her
findings.”
*Brain, Child Magazine*
“Ripley’s evaluation of education in a changing world is revealing
and thought-provoking.”
*Rocky Mountain Telegram*
“A good read . . . . If you want to understand what goes on in
other countries’ education systems, read [The Smartest Kids in the
World].”
*Coshocton Tribune*
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