What will it take for urban schools to achieve the kind of academic performance required by new state and national
educational standards? How can classroom teachers in city schools help to close the achievement gap? What can restore
public confidence in public schools?
Pedro Noguera argues that higher standards and more tests, by themselves, will not make low-income urban students
any smarter and the schools they attend more successful without substantial investment in the communities in which
they live. Drawing on extensive research performed in San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, and Richmond, Noguera demonstrates
how school and student achievement is influenced by social forces such as demographic change, poverty, drug trafficking,
violence, and social inequity. Readers get a detailed glimpse into the lives of teachers and students working "against
the odds" to succeed. Noguera sends a strong message to those who would have urban schools "shape up
or shut down": invest in the future of these students and schools, and we can reach the kind of achievement
and success that typify only more privileged communities.
Public schools are the last best hope for many poor families living in cities across the nation. Noguera gives
politicians, policymakers, and the public its own standard to achieve -- provide the basic economic and social
support so that teachers and students can get the job done!