Social science research has shown us for decades that young children notice racial differences at very young ages and learn societal rules about race throughout childhood. Margaret Hagerman reviews some of the research into children's understandings of race and shares her own observations from conversations with children across racial and class…

Title I schools that want desperately to raise student scores on high-stakes tests often have found it hard to resist the lure of scripted literacy programs, especially in the face of pressure from No Child Left Behind to raise test scores. In recent years, many high-poverty elementary schools have adopted such programs in spite of evidence about…

The quality of the teacher in the classroom is the most important factor in raising student achievement, as Linda Darling-Hammond noted, and educators should offer their students nothing less than well-trained and well-supported teachers. Providing high-quality teachers is of particular importance in low-income communities of color, where the most…

This article presents a reply to "Edison Is the Symptom, NCLB Is the Disease" by Peter Campbell--a critique that portrayed the school as an exploitative environment, a veritable plantation subjugating poor minority children through mind-numbing, compliance-inducing drills. The author refutes the specific charges leveled against…

Discusses results of a study and report on the academic achievement of low-socioeconomic students. The study, conducted by Johns Hopkins University researchers Alexander, Entwisle, and Olson, appears in summer 2001 issue of "Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis." The report, "Raising Achievement and Reducing Gaps," by…

Argues that James Coleman's findings from his recent study are misleading because Coleman measures equality of opportunity in terms of percentages of Black and White students and ignores inequalities in treatment, policy, and curriculum. Urges minority leaders to establish schools to serve as beacons to public schools that are failing. (Author/WD)

Questions James Coleman's pluralistic model of education and suggests that minority students, either by choice or by luck of the draw, might be excluded from participation in specialized school programs. Posits that federal aid to private schools may cause a "brain drain" from public schools. (Author/WD)

This article talks about the large achievement gap between children of color and their white peers. The reasons for the achievement gap are varied. First, many urban minorities come from a background of poverty. One of the detrimental effects of growing up in poverty is receiving inadequate nourishment at a time when bodies and brains are rapidly…

The author was startled by the carelessness and selectivity of Robert Slavin's comments, which give his words the ring of a promotional release rather than of intellectual reflection. He agrees that Slavin is accurate in saying that the scores on reading tests at P.S. 65 in the South Bronx improved during a period in which, among a number of other…

Summarizes 15 years of National Assessment of Educational Progress data on reading and writing in elementary schools. While reading performance has improved over the 1971-1984 period for black and Hispanic 9- and 13-year-olds and for younger disadvantaged children, writing results are less encouraging. Effective writing instruction may require…

Low achievement and high dropout rates among poor and minority students continue to plague U.S. society. While much attention over the past quarter century has focused on reforming the schools these students attend, little or no progress has been made in actually closing the achievement gaps or reducing the number of dropouts. Why? Aren't…

Educational problems in disadvantaged schools are attributed to students' culturally deprived early childhood social environments, rather than to inadequacies of teachers. (MF)

John Goodlad's article in the same "Kappan" issue provides a realistic picture of teacher preparation, but does not reveal new information. Perhaps teacher preparation programs and schooling are deliberately disconnected to guarantee the same dreadful outcomes for the poor and minorities that American schooling has always produced. (MLH)

Many tout the "no excuses" mantra, from the Education Trust to President Bush, and the Heritage Foundation even titled its report on a group of higher-achieving, high-poverty schools No Excuses. As an antidote to decades of low expectations and substandard teaching for children from poor, often dysfunctional families and neighborhoods, the "no…

Integration is essential but succeeds only in schools that have fundamentally changed their organization and teaching strategies. High expectations, opportunities for students to work and learn together, the use of language for real purposes, and continual reexamination of successes and problems are necessary elements in an effectively integrated…