by Paul Tough
[>] “the worst slum area in the United States”: Pam Belluck, “Razing the Slums to Rescue the Residents,” New York Times, September 6, 1998.
one in nine murders in Chicago: William Julius Wilson, The Truly Disadvantaged (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987), 25.
single mothers on welfare: Ibid.
[>] The Chicago public schools’ average is 17: Rosalind Rossi, “CPS High School ACT Scores Go Down—and They Go Up,” Chicago Tribune, November 3, 2011.
only students who score in the top 20 percent: Murray, Real Education, 67, 75.
“As long as it remains taboo”: Ibid., 104.
[>] “just not smart enough”: Ibid., 44.
[>] Recently, two labor economists: Philip Babcock and Mindy Marks, “Leisure College, USA: The Decline in Student Study Time,” AEI Education Outlook (Washington, DC: American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, August 2010); Philip Babcock and Mindy Marks, “The Falling Time Cost of College: Evidence from Half a Century of Time Use Data,” unpublished paper (March 24, 2010).
[>] A separate study of 6,300 undergraduates: Steven Brint and Allison M. Cantwell, Undergraduate Time Use and Academic Outcomes: Results from UCUES 2006 (Berkeley, CA: Research and Occasional Paper Series, Center for Students in Higher Education, University of California, Berkeley, October 2008).
5. A Better Path
[>] I wrote an article about KIPP and Riverdale: Paul Tough, “What If the Secret to Success Is Failure?,” New York Times Magazine, September 18, 2011.
[>] “I’m left now, in my thirties”: See http://community.nytimes.com/com ments/www.nytimes.com/2011/09/18/magazine/what-if-the-secret- to-success-is-failure.html?permid=141#comment141.
[>] “one of the best decisions I ever made”: “‘You’ve Got to Find What You Love,’ Jobs Says,” Stanford Report, June 14, 2005.
[>] There are fewer entrepreneurs: Paul Kedrosky and Dane Stangler, Financialization and Its Entrepreneurial Consequences (Kansas City, MO: Kauffman Foundation Research Series, March 2011).
36 percent of new Princeton graduates: Catherine Rampell, “Out of Harvard, and Into Finance,” New York Times Economix blog, December 21, 2011.
an insightful blog post addressing this issue: James Kwak, “Why Do Harvard Kids Head to Wall Street?,” Baseline Scenario blog, May 4, 2010, http://baselinescenario.com/2010/05/04/why-do-harvard-kids-head-to-wall-street/.
[>] The recruiters also make the argument: Marina Keegan, “Another View: The Science and Strategy of College Recruiting,” New York Times DealBook blog, November 9, 2011.
an ongoing survey of attitudes by the Pew Research Center: “September 22–25, 2011, Omnibus,” Pew Research Center.
[>] In 1966, at the height of the War on Poverty: Carmen DeNavas-Walt, Bernadette D. Proctor, and Jessica C. Smith, U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Reports, Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2010 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2011), 14, figure 4.
And the child poverty rate: “Poverty Among Children,” Congressional Budget Office, December 3, 1984; DeNavas-Walt, Proctor, and Smith, Income, Poverty, 17, figure 4.
[>] The first goes back to The Bell Curve: Richard J. Herrnstein and Charles Murray, The Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life (New York: Free Press, 1994). See also James J. Heckman, “Lessons from the Bell Curve,” Journal of Political Economy 103, no. 5 (1995).
[>] gap between rich and poor was getting worse: Sean F. Reardon, “The Widening Achievement Gap Between the Rich and the Poor,” in Whither Opportunity?, eds. Greg Duncan and Richard Murnane (New York: Russell Sage, 2011). See also Sabrina Tavernise, “Education Gap Grows Between Rich and Poor, Studies Say,” New York Times, February 9, 2012.
[>] The consensus of most reform advocates: Steven Brill chronicles the way that the broad education-reform movement became a narrowly focused teacher-quality movement in Steven Brill, Class Warfare: Inside the Fight to Fix America’s Schools (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2011).
This argument has its intellectual roots: William L. Sanders and June C. Rivers, Cumulative and Residual Effects of Teachers on Future Student Academic Achievement (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Value-Added Research and Assessment Center, November 1996); William L. Sanders and Sandra P. Horn, “Research Findings from the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System (TVAAS) Database: Implications for Educational Evaluation and Research,” Journal of Personnel Evaluation in Education 12, no. 3 (1998); Heather R. Jordan, Robert L. Mendro, and Dash Weerasinghe, Teacher Effects on Longitudinal Student Achievement: A Report on Research in Progress (Dallas: Dallas Public Schools, July 1997); Kati Haycock, “Good Teaching Matters . . . a Lot,” Thinking K−16 3, no. 2 (Summer 1998); Eric A. Hanushek, John F. Kain, and Steven G. Rivkin, “Teachers, Schools, and Academic Achievement,” NBER Working Paper 6691 (Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, August 1998); Eric A. Hanushek, “Efficiency and Equity in Education,” NBER Reporter (Spring 2001); Robert Gordon, Thomas J. Kane, and Douglas O. Staiger, Identifying Effective Teachers Using Performance on the Job, Hamilton Project White Paper 2006-01 (Washington, DC: Brookings, 2006).
[>] brilliant teachers suddenly go downhill: See, e.g., Michael Marder, “Visualizing Educational Data,” unpublished paper, Department of Physics, University of Texas at Austin, February 9, 2011; and Michael Marder, “Failure of U.S. Public Secondary Schools in Mathematics: Poverty Is a More Important Cause than Teacher Quality,” unpublished paper, 2011.
[>] teacher quality probably accounted for less than 10 percent: Hanushek, Kain, and Rivkin, “Teachers, Schools”; Eric Eide, Dan Goldhaber, and Dominic Brewer, “The Teacher Labour Market and Teacher Quality,” Oxford Review of Economic Policy 20, no. 2 (Summer 2004): 232.
$41,348 for a family of four: United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service, National School Lunch Program Fact Sheet (Washington, DC: United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service, October 2011).
[>] covers about 40 percent of American children: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 2011 Annual Social and Economic Supplement, http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/cpstables/032011/pov/new01_185_01.htm.
just one student in eight doesn’t qualify: As of the spring of 2012, 87 percent of Chicago public school students are low-income by federal education standards. “Stats and facts” page, Chicago Public Schools website, http://www.cps.edu/about_cps/at-a-glance/pages/stats_and_facts.aspx.
about 10 percent of all American children: DeNavas-Walt, Proctor, and Smith, Income, Poverty, 19, table 6.
an income of less than about $11,000 a year: Ibid., 61. See also Hope Yen and Laura Wides-Munoz, “Poorest Poor in US Hits New Record: 1 in 15 People,” Associated Press, November 3, 2011.
more than seven million American children: DeNavas-Walt, Proctor, and Smith, Income, Poverty, 19, table 6.
[>] an effective program of support for parents: See, for instance, Jack Shonkoff, speech at the NBC News Education Nation Summit, September 26, 2011, http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/resources/multimedia/lectures_and_presentations/education_nation/.
between seven and twelve dollars of tangible benefit: James J. Heckman, Seong Hyeok Moon, Rodrigo Pinto, Peter A. Savelyev, and Adam Yavitz, “The Rate of Return to the High/Scope Perry Preschool Program,” Journal of Public Economics 94, nos. 1 and 2 (February 2010).
Index
A. J. (IS 318 student), [>]–[>]
ABC program. See Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-Up (ABC) program
academic self-control, [>]
ACE (Adverse Childhood Experiences) scores, [>]–[>], [>], [>], [>]
ACE Tech Charter High School, [>]–[>], [>]
achievement, dimensions of, [>]
achievement gap
executive functions and, [>]–[>]
OneGoal students and, [>]–[>]
policy debates and, [>]–[>]
teacher quality and, [>]–[>]
&n
bsp; achievement tests. See also standardized college admissions tests
low-scorers on, [>]–[>], [>]–[>]
malleability of intelligence and, [>]–[>]
as predictor of life outcomes, [>]–[>]
unfulfilled potential and, [>]–[>]
ACT test
college success and, [>], [>]
Kewauna’s story and, [>], [>], [>]
as measure, [>]–[>]
score improvement efforts and, [>]–[>], [>], [>], [>]
ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), [>]
adolescence
decision making and, [>]–[>]
discipline and, [>]–[>]
early nurturing and, [>]–[>]
effectiveness of interventions in, [>]–[>]
effects of childhood stress in, [>]–[>]
affluent students. See privileged students
African American students. See also Black, James, Jr.; Lerma, Kewauna; Williams, Justus
chess and, [>], [>], [>]
college and, [>]–[>]
compared with affluent white teens, [>]–[>]
Ainsworth, Mary, [>]–[>], [>]
Albert, Derrion, [>]
Alinsky, Saul, [>]
allostatic load, [>]
executive functions and, [>]–[>]
index for, [>]–[>], [>]
parenting and, [>]–[>]
Amistad Academy in New Haven, [>]
Anda, Robert, [>]–[>]
animal-behavior studies. See LG study
anxiety, [>]–[>], [>]–[>]
anxious attachment, [>]–[>]
Aronson, Joshua, [>]–[>]
Ashley, Maurice, [>]
Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-Up (ABC) program, [>]–[>], [>]–[>]
attachment relationships
interventions and, [>]–[>]
Minnesota study on, [>]–[>]
parental history and, [>]–[>]
parenting and, [>]–[>]
as predictor of success, [>]–[>]
Babcock, Philip, [>]–[>]
Barayev, Isaac (student), [>], [>]
Bayview Child Health Center in San Francisco, [>]–[>]
behavioral theory, [>]–[>]
behavior modification, [>]–[>]
The Bell Curve (Murray and Herrnstein), [>], [>]–[>]
Bennett, Juaquin (KIPP student), [>]–[>]
Bennett, William, [>]
Binet, Alfred, [>]
Black, James, Jr. (IS 318 student), [>]–[>], [>], [>]
chess rating, [>]–[>], [>]–[>]
Columbus tournament and, [>]–[>]
match against Lapshun, [>]–[>], [>]
specialized-school test and, [>]–[>]
Black, James, Sr., [>]
Blair, Clancy, [>], [>], [>]
Block, Jack, [>]
blood pressure, and health risk, [>]
Bowen, William G., [>]–[>]
Bowlby, John, [>]–[>]
Bowles, Samuel, [>]–[>]
Bridges, Ruby Nell, [>]
Bring Up Genius! (Polgar), [>]
Brunzell, Tom, [>]–[>], [>], [>]
Burke Harris, Nadine, [>], [>], [>]–[>], [>], [>], [>]
neuroscientific perspective and, [>], [>]–[>], [>], [>]–[>]
Byrne, Ruth, [>]
CARE. See Children Aware of Riverdale Ethics (CARE)
Caspi, Avshalom, [>]
CBT. See cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)
character. See also character strengths; noncognitive skills
habits and, [>]–[>]
infant brain chemistry and, [>]
meaning of, [>]–[>], [>]–[>]
quantification of, [>]–[>]
rules and, [>]–[>]
character-education initiatives, [>]–[>], [>]–[>]
Character Education Partnership, [>]
character report card, [>], [>]–[>], [>], [>]–[>]
development of, [>]–[>]
character strengths. See also grit; noncognitive skills; optimism; self-control
American high school students and, [>]–[>]
as antipoverty tool, [>]
definition of character and, [>]–[>]
development of, [>]
dual-purpose instruction and, [>]–[>]
good habits and, [>]–[>]
high-school GPA and, [>]–[>]
KIPP development of, [>]–[>]
malleability of, [>]–[>], [>]–[>]
parenting and, [>]–[>]
Peterson’s list of, [>]–[>]
risk of failure and, [>]–[>]
as social safety net, [>], [>]–[>]
teaching technique and, [>]–[>]
Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification (Seligman and Peterson), [>], [>]
charter schools, [>], [>], [>], [>]. See also ACE Tech Charter High School; KIPP middle schools
chess. See also chess mastery; chess tournaments; Spiegel, Elizabeth
IQ and, [>]–[>]
and thinking habits, [>]–[>], [>]–[>], [>]–[>]
Chess-in-the-Schools, [>], [>], [>], [>]
chess mastery, [>]–[>]
African Americans and, [>], [>]
allure of, [>]–[>]
deliberate practice and, [>]–[>]
mental abilities in, [>]–[>]
chess ratings, [>]–[>]
James Black and, [>]–[>], [>]–[>]
chess tournaments
elite dominance of, [>]–[>]
team strategy and, [>]–[>]
Chicago Public Schools reform initiatives, [>]–[>], [>]–[>]
Chicago Tribune, [>]–[>]
childhood trauma. See also ACE (Adverse Childhood Experiences) scores
adolescence and, [>]–[>], [>]–[>], [>]–[>]
adult outcomes and, [>]–[>]
neurophysiological effects of, [>]–[>], [>]
nurturing parenting habits and, [>]–[>]
prevalence of, [>]
child-parent psychotherapy, [>]
Children Aware of Riverdale Ethics (CARE), [>]
Child Trauma Research Program, University of California at San Francisco, [>]
Chingos, Matthew, [>]–[>]
Cicchetti, Dante, [>], [>]
Clarke, Whitney, [>]
Clinton, Hillary, [>]–[>]
Clinton, William Jefferson (U.S. president), [>]–[>]
coding-speed test, [>]–[>], [>]
cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), [>], [>]
cognitive control system, [>]–[>]. See also self-control
cognitive flexibility, [>]
cognitive hypothesis, [>]–[>], [>]–[>], [>], [>], [>]. See also intelligence; Murray, Charles
cognitive self-control, [>]
Cohen, K. C., [>], [>], [>]–[>]
Colas, Joshua, [>]
College Advisory Playbook (KIPP), [>]–[>]
college graduation trends, [>]–[>], [>]–[>]
college students
college access vs. completion and, [>]–[>]
jobs of graduates and, [>]–[>]
KIPP graduates as, [>]–[>], [>]–[>], 209n50
OneGoal program and, [>]–[>]
relationships with professors, [>]
time use by, [>]–[>]
college wage premium, [>], [>]–[>]
“compliance-based” discipline system, [>]–[>]
CompStat data analysis system, [>]
compulsiveness, [>]–[>]
confidence, [>]–[>], [>]–[>]
confirmation bias, [>]–[>]
conscientiousness, [>]–[>], [>]–[>]. See also self-control
consciousness, [>]–[>]
Consortium on Chicago Schools Research, [>], [>]
Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center in Chicago, [>]
cortisol levels, [>], [>], [>], [>], [>], [>]. See also stress-response system
counseling, [>], [>]
Cowley, Michelle, [>]
; CPA (character point average), [>]–[>]
cross-fostering studies, [>]
Crossing the Finish Line (Bowen, Chingos, & McPherson), [>]–[>], [>]
Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly, [>]
Daley, Richard (Chicago mayor), [>], [>]
Danson, Ted, [>]
Dark Knights of Harlem, [>]
decision making, [>]–[>], [>]–[>], [>]–[>]
Deep Blue, [>]–[>]
de Groot, Adriaan, [>]
delayed gratification, [>], [>]–[>]. See also self-control
depression, [>]–[>]
The Development of the Person (Egeland and Sroufe), [>]–[>]
discipline, and middle school students, [>]–[>]
DNA-related effects, and parenting behaviors, [>]
Dowling, Jane Martinez, [>]–[>]
Dozier, Elizabeth, [>]–[>], [>]–[>], [>]
Keitha Jones and, [>], [>]
“Mush” and, [>], [>], [>]
Dozier, Mary, [>], [>]
dropping out
adolescent decisions and, [>]
author’s experience and, [>]–[>]
from college, [>], [>], [>], [>]–[>]
noncognitive skills and, [>], [>], [>]–[>], [>], [>]–[>]
OneGoal program and, [>]
parental care and, [>]
as positive step, [>]–[>]
poverty and, [>], [>]
predictors of, [>], [>]
U.S. trends in, [>]–[>]
dual-purpose instruction, [>]–[>]
Dubner, Stephen, [>]
Duckworth, Angela, [>]
character research, [>]–[>], [>], [>]
Grit Scale and, [>]–[>]
motivation vs. volition and, [>], [>]
volitional tools and, [>]–[>]
Duncan, Arne, [>]–[>], [>], [>]
Du Sable High School in Chicago, [>], [>]
Dweck, Carol, [>], [>], [>]
dwelling strategies, [>]–[>]
Edlund, Calvin, [>]–[>]
education reform
poverty debate and, [>]–[>], [>]–[>]
students’ home lives and, [>]–[>]
teacher quality and, [>]–[>]
Egeland, Byron, [>]–[>]
elite schools. See also Riverdale Country School
character and, [>]–[>]
chess playing and, [>]–[>]
opportunity and, [>]
emotional capacity, [>]–[>], [>]
emotional intelligence, [>], [>]–[>]
The End of Overeating (Kessler), [>]–[>]
Ericsson, K. Anders, [>
