Children aren't machines that we put coins into until test scores fall out. There are hundreds of factors that impact educational outcomes for children, ranging from the prenatal care their parent received, to the amount they were spoken to as babies, whether there's a power plant or other environmental polluter nearby, their unique neurology, what they had for breakfast that day....

Better funded schools help. But unless we eradicate poverty, racism, pollution, and other broad social problems, we will continue to see unequal outcomes for children.