The members of the Large Countywide and Suburban District Consortium--a group of large, highly diverse, and successful districts across the country--have made great strides in achieving college and career readiness for all students. While they are succeeding, the consortium proposes that more could be done to accomplish their objectives through…

The middle grades are a time of change for adolescent learners. Middle schoolers are in the process of refining their social skills and their self-concept. They begin taking responsibility for their education and making decisions about their own learning. They start planning for college and careers, understanding for the first time how their…

Baltimore City's public school system is in crisis. Academically, the school system fails on any number of measures. The city's graduation rate is barely above 50 percent and students continually lag well behind state averages on standardized tests. Adding to these problems is the school system's current fiscal crisis, created by years of fiscal…