Changing the Course of Failure: How Schools and Parents Can Help Low-Achieving Students

The basic purpose of this book is to help policy makers at all levels of government understand that (1) widespread adolescent under-achievement is not susceptible to solution by educational interventions no matter how much money is allocated to public education; and (2) there are unidentified educational and civic costs to focusing on low achievement and to expecting public institutions of education (for K-12 and college) to solve a growing social problem. Many policy makers seem to think (1) that all Hispanic and African American students are low achievers even though only 25 percent of this country's 15 year-olds are designated by tests as low achievers and Hispanic and African American children constitute 41% of our public school population; (2) that most children in low-income families are Hispanic or African American even though more "white" children are; or (3) that teachers/schools are the cause of low achievement. Educational institutions still cannot solve a non-education-caused problem and haven't done so for over 50 years despite all the public and private money that has been allocated.