i'd give this a 3.75. it is a well-written, complex account of why so many reforms have consistently failed to bring about greater "change" in urban public schools (which you probably could have figured out from the title). its based mostly on the chicago consortium work, and centers around the idea of "demoralized schools" and irrational organizational culture at all levels of the education system. the book is heavy on centering the problems around adults - i can imagine this book coming across as insulting to practicing teachers; i appreciate that it avoids a deficit perspective when it comes to students (for the most part). generally speaking, payne offers a fairly negative view of the current state of schools and education with few ideas for how to address the problems that he identifies. i do wonder, however, what an updated edition of this book might look like, particularly given the proliferation of market-based reforms since it was published (2008).