"They would rather have something that doesn't work, but is measurable" could be the slogan for American education for some time now. The ideas outlined in the NYT article all require a few years to fully bloom and created a significant impact. However, no political candidate can run on a platform of "let's see what happens" which makes radically changing and improving the education system so difficult. I haven't done any extensive research into all of the problems that plague the education system, but I would definitely recommend Diane Ravitch's book Reign of Errors. Ravitch is a former Secretary of Education for George HW Bush who completely changed her views after getting out of office because she saw what was and was not working. Normally, I never look at a problem with a defeated demeanor, but education seems to be impossible to radically change in the US due to the need for numbers and data.