Success for All

Despite the constant public outcry about the crisis in education in the United States, every large city [Page 2103]has one or more outstanding and often widely recognized public schools. Some of these appear to succeed because they serve children of wealthy, well-educated parents or because they are magnet or charter schools that can screen out unmotivated or low-achieving students. However, there are also ordinary schools that serve disadvantaged and minority children in inner-city or rural locations and, year after year, produce outstanding achievement outcomes. Such schools play a crucial role in reminding us that the problems of our school system have little to do with the capabilities of children; they provide our best evidence that all children can learn. Yet the success of these lighthouse ...