The authors highlight that the relationship between family income and children’s academic achievement has strengthened over recent decades. This growing “income achievement gap” replaces the older concern about the “race gap.” It shows that economic inequality is now the main barrier to educational equity.

the authors describe schools as the key mechanism through which equal opportunity should be achieved. Education is the “engine” of the American Dream—but it’s also where inequalities are reproduced. This introduces the book’s main theme: the conflict between democratic ideals and educational inequality.

begin by showing how deeply the American Dream shapes U.S. identity—it promises that hard work and talent can lead anyone to success. But they also note that this ideal can obscure social inequalities. The tension between belief and reality drives their whole argument.