Topics

AdministrationViolenceSupervisionLeadership

Adult EducationCorp. Training and Continuing Ed.LiteracyTransformative Learning

Assessment & EvaluationProgram EvaluationAlternative AssessmentGradingStandardized Testing

Social ContextHistory of SchoolingPhilosophyUrban EducationEconomics and School-to-workRural EducationSociology of EducationWar and EducationPost-Industrial Education

CounselingSecondary SchoolsCollege Advising

CurriculumControlArtsSocial StudiesHealth and NutritionLanguage ArtsMathematicsPeace StudiesScience

DiversityRace and EthnicityAt-Risk StudentsSpecial NeedsGender and Sexuality

Early Childhood EducationPre-School and Child CareEarly Childhood Development

Higher EducationAdmissions and TuitionFacultyPolicyStudent and Community Life

International EducationComparative EducationEducational Development

LearningCognitionParental InfluenceEducational Psychology

PolicyReformCharters & VouchersHigh-Stakes TestingStandardsAthletes and AcademicsDropoutsIndependent SchoolsPhilanthropyPoliticsReligionTracking

Research MethodsQualitative MethodsSurvey ResearchExperimental ResearchLibrariesWriting for Publication

Teacher EducationProfessional DevelopmentSchools of EducationStudent Teaching

TeachingTeaching ProfessionSupply and DemandWorking Conditions

TechnologyTechnology in the ClassroomDistance LearningTechnology EducationPublishing and CommunicationOnline Publishing

IntersectionsPolicy and Teaching Practice

Discussion
My Experience Technology - Good for Students AND Teachers Fiddling with Indicators while using Toxic Tests Ode to Dewey Clearly Articulated Proposal--Thank You!
more >>

Announcements

Call for Chapters: The Corona Chronicles

Call for Papers: Emerging Voices in Education (EViE) Special Issue on Early Childhood Education

Research on Education in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Middle East

Call for Rethinking Higher Education Book Series (Springer)

make a post | more >>

The Hardest Questions Aren't on the Test: Lessons from an Innovative Urban School

reviewed by Maria Martinez-Cosio - January 19, 2010

Title: The Hardest Questions Aren't on the Test: Lessons from an Innovative Urban School
Author(s): Linda F. Nathan
Publisher: Beacon Press, Boston
ISBN: 0807032743, Pages: 224, Year: 2009
Search for book at Amazon.com

Elected officials and the media continue to clamor for magic formulas, prescribed models, and a clear set of instructions for turning around our troubled urban high schools. Despite NCLB sanctions and district-wide reform measures, many high schools continue to struggle to graduate students from underserved populations. Linda Nathan brings the discussion back to center, by rejecting the “cookie cutter” method of educating urban youth, and instead reaffirming an important tenet of improving education: “reform is essentially political and [that] you must know your community’s context before plunging in” (p. xxv). Thus her book rejects a formulaic approach and instead focuses on challenging teachers, administrators, and parents to ask tough questions, challenge norms, and rethink the methods used towards the acquisition of knowledge. The setting for Nathan’s narrative is the Boston Arts Academy, a racially and ethnically diverse magnet high school with 420 students. Students must audition for a spot by performing... (preview truncated at 150 words.)

To view the full-text for this article you must be signed-in with the appropriate membership. Please review your options below:

Cite This Article as: Teachers College Record, Date Published: January 19, 2010
https://www.tcrecord.org ID Number: 15899, Date Accessed: 5/25/2020 9:30:44 PM

Purchase Reprint Rights for this article or review

Article Tools
Email this article Print this article Post a Comment

Related Discussion

Post a Comment \| Read All

About the Author
Maria Martinez-Cosio University of Texas, Arlington E-mail Author MARIA MARTINEZ-COSIO is an assistant professor in the School of Urban and Public Affairs at the University of Texas, Arlington, where she teaches graduate courses. As an urban sociologist, her research interests include immigrant parent involvement in education, gentrification, and immigrant involvement in urban renewal efforts. She is currently interviewing middle class Mexican-immigrant families for a study on identity formation. She and a colleague from UC San Diego, recently completed a Lincoln Foundation study on the role of private foundations in community development.

Member Center
	Welcome! Sign-in Submit My Work TCR @ Your Library Book Reviews @ Your Library

In Print

This Month's Issue
Back Issues: