"Incomplete: How Middle Class Schools Aren't Making the Grade" is a new report from Third Way, a Washington, D.C.-based policy think tank. The report aims to convince parents, taxpayers and policymakers that they should be as concerned about middle-class schools not making the grade as they are about the failures of the nation's large, poor, urban…

A growing body of research confirms the long-held belief of parents, school administrators, and policy makers that teachers are the key component to a good education and that there is substantial variation in teacher quality. This research differs fundamentally from prior work on teachers by focusing directly on differences in student learning…

The dropout problem in the United States is explored; and some suggestions for reducing the dropout rate are offered for parents, teachers, and principals. Several indicators have been recognized as placing a student at risk of dropping out of school. Dimensions of alienation have also been identified, as have social factors that contribute,…

The results of a 2-year study examining the ways that four major urban school systems (New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Boston) sort students into different schools, tracks, ability groups, and grade levels are summarized in this report. The study looked carefully at the effects of these sorting practices on low-income, minority, limited…

This paper evaluates the effectiveness of the Beating the Odds (BTO) program of the Houston (Texas) schools in the 1990-91 school year, the third and final year of Phase I of the program. The BTO program provided training workshops for teachers of at-risk students and direct counseling and social service support for at-risk students in a selected…