This compilation of essays examines a combination of education policies that, the contributors propose, can close the black-white achievement gap ... The authors identify school desegregation, revitalized preschool education, greater student accountability, and policies giving black parents more control over the schools their children attend as the initiatives most likely to raise African-American students' achievement to a level of parity.

Education Week

In this collection, ten American academics and researchers discuss what must occur to fully close the black-white test score gap in the next quarter-century. The text examines a variety of policy alternatives - accountability, school choice, preschool programs, and greater resource commitment - but makes clear that effective change will require the concerted effort of the country's educational and political leaders.

Reference and Research Book News

This careful volume provides a roadmap for policymakers and educators who are serious about responding to O'Connor's charge.

Education Next: Journal of Opinion And Research

This volume offers an interesting array of conventional and unconventional strategies for school reform. They deserve to be discussed and given a fair trial in practice.

Diane Ravitch, Research Professor in Education at New York University and Brown Chair in Education Policy at Brookings Institution, author of The Death and Life of the Great American School System