The system mostly exists to perpetuate itself. And here’s the closest thing there is to a placebo:

The achievement gap between black and white, rich and poor is not due to lack of money. It largely comes down to a vocabulary gap, which means a knowledge gap, because words name things. Perhaps you’ve heard of the 30 million-word gap? Many poor children have a massive vocabulary deficit that modern U.S. education simply does not overcome. (This is largely the fault of parents who put their child in front of the TV or iPad instead of reading him books, but teachers can overcome it. It’s not the money, it’s the education.

But that puts agency in the hands of parents, and not the crusading world-fixers, so don’t expect it to get much traction.