A federal panel today announced that schools across the country are in crisis and that the reform movement championed by both Democrats and Republicans has failed to improve the state of education as reported by Reuters. The commission said that inequities inherent in the American education system have “thoroughly stacked the odds” against poor children. A 52-page report issued by the panel argued against the strong emphasis on standardized testing, called for more research to be done on the effectiveness of charter schools, and advocated for universal preschool among other measures it wants to see adopted.