You know that you live in uncommon times for education when everyone from President George W. Bush to the Children's Defense Fund is championing the same slogan—in this case, Leave No Child Behind.
Although divergent in philosophy and political bent, liberal and conservative organizations from the Heritage Foundation to the Public Education Network (PEN) to the Business Round Table agree on some practices that could narrow the achievement gap between the rich and poor.
For example, No Excuses, from the Heritage Foundation, details lessons from 21 high-achieving, high-poverty schools. Quality Now, from PEN and Public Agenda, reports on the conversations on education and race held in cities around the United States. The reports are in remarkable agreement about what educators think works in schools and what parents and communities want for their children. Both studies point to the importance of holding high aspirations for all students, using data to drive change, and working closely with parents, to name just a few central tenets. Both studies conclude that improving the quality of instruction is key to raising achievement.Improving the quality of instruction is the only way to improve overall student achievement. Teacher quality is the single most accurate indicator of a student's performance in school. (No Excuses, p. 9)Teacher qualifications matter. Parents are concerned with how and where teachers get assigned. They also want to see how well teachers know their subject matter and whether they can provide role models for their children. (Quality Now, p. 9)
Meanwhile, the Business Round Table, in conjunction with other business groups, declared that what is needed is arenaissance for educators. . . . Without high-quality teachers, our efforts to improve student achievement are destined to fail. (Washington Times, p. A6)
With so much agreement about the importance of improving instruction for all students, and even about how to do it, what stands in our way? We all know the major areas of disagreement: how and how much funding is distributed to whom, and to what extent tests will be accountability measures as opposed to instructional tools. We in education are only too familiar with the sometimes vicious disagreements about the "best" practices in education. We have had the reading wars, the math wars, and the standards wars.
This issue is dedicated to some ways that educators are improving achievement for all students. All involve the courage to go beyond unifying slogans and polarizing stances to make change happen.
We begin with a report from the director of the Education Trust that analyzes the growing chasms in academic achievement among the races. Kati Haycock (p. 6) documents the fact that more students are successful if (1) standards are in place, (2) the curriculum is challenging, (3) more time is devoted to literacy and mathematics instruction, and (4) every student, regardless of wealth or race, has a skilled teacher.
Carol Ann Tomlinson (p. 12) follows with a thoughtful look at a practice that every teacher grapples with: how to grade. She explores how to use grading as a diagnostic and instructional tool rather than as a sorting or labeling device.
W. James Popham, always insightful about the merits and weaknesses of standardized tests, instructs educators and policymakers in the different ways of teaching to the test (p. 16). Item teaching is one way; curriculum teaching is a far better way.
We follow with two sections of three articles each: one section looks at the benefits of small school and class size (pp. 22–35). The second (pp. 36–54) examines three different ways of teaching reading, all of which give students who have reached 3rd grade and who have not yet mastered reading skills another chance at literacy.
We invite you to voice your opinions about this issue (see Your Turn, p. 82) and to weigh in on the policy or practice that you believe would help realize our common goal of achievement for every child.
