Beyond Measure: Rescuing an Overscheduled, Overtested, Underestimated Generation

Now in paperback, the New York Times bestseller from Race to Nowhere director Vicki Abeles about how our schools can revolutionize learning, prioritize children’s health, and re-envision success for a lifetime.

Race to Nowhere, Vicki Abeles’s groundbreaking documentary about our educational system, tapped into a widespread problem in our nation’s schools: From high school to kindergarten, an entire generation of American students is being pressured to perform in ways that make them less intellectually flexible, creative, and responsive to a changing world. Vicki brought home how, as students race against each other to have constantly higher grades, better test scores, and more AP courses than their classmates, they are damaging their own mental and physical health.

Now in the New York Times bestseller Beyond Measure, Vicki continues this all-important conversation, seeking out success stories to inspire and instruct those who are eager to create change. We see examples of teachers who have cut the workload in half and seen scores rise; parents who have taken the pressure off of their kids only to find their motivation and abilities rise on their own; schools that have instituted later start times so that the kids are getting the sleep they need able to learn more efficiently.

Everyone is aware that the educational system is broken, and Beyond Measure reveals a personal, unique, on-the-ground perspective. From limiting the number of AP courses a college will consider to eliminating the competitive need to “do more than the next kid” and shifting emphasis in the admissions process to essay options over test scores. “With both heart and smarts, Vicki Abeles showcases the courageous communities that are rejecting the childhood rat race and reclaiming health and learning (Maria Shriver).” The result will help students succeed, not just on the race to college—but for life.

Vicki Abeles is a filmmaker, an ex-Wall Street lawyer, and a mother of three. Her documentary Race to Nowhere hit a nerve with its vivid portrayal of today’s broken education system. Her second film, Beyond Measure, about the groundbreaking leaders transforming schools for the better, premieres in 2015. She lives in the San Francisco area with her family.