The Kids Left Behind: Catching Up the Underachieving Children of Poverty examines critical studies on high-performing, high-poverty schools to identify how schools can fulfill the mission of educating all students to proficiency, especially students at risk. The authors identify eight best practices and then further break those down into specific strategies, often using real-life examples from successful schools.
The titles of chapters 411 correspond to the eight best practices of high-performing, high-poverty schools identified by the research. Each chapter begins by comparing "the Old World of education" with "the New World of education" to show how best practices can revolutionize teaching and learning. Next each chapter outlines specific strategies to implement the practices at the district, school, and classroom levels. Each chapter concludes with a rubric that readers can use to evaluate the progress of their school or district.