From your review it appears DeBoer never considers the European model, in which academically-inclined children progress through a fairly standard model to university while less academically-inclined students take a track that leads them to acquiring technical and other trade-oriented skills, leading to apprenticeships and well-paid jobs. Germany, the Netherlands, and the Scandinavian countries excel at this approach, leading to low levels of unemployment, high levels of social integration, and lower income disparities than are seen in the USA. Strange that DeBoer's focus should be so narrow and so exclusive of useful learning points. Perhaps he has more of an idee fix than a meaningful analytical position.