Still Separate and Unequal: Segregation and the Future of Urban School Reform

Racially separate schools cannot be equal even if funding levels are the same as wealthy White school districts, according to Barry A. Gold in his provocative new book. By documenting the effects that the New Jersey Supreme Court Abbott V decision had on schools and classrooms, Gold argues that Abbott V, along with NCLB, actually widened the educational gap between middle-class White students and minority students by creating a new but less effective type of urban education. This in-depth examination describes and analyzes the actual behavior of administrators and teachers to understand how and why these educational reforms failed. The book features include: reports on the two most important reforms of urban education in U.S. history - the New Jersey Supreme Court Abbott V ruling and NCLB; rich case studies of 7 years of urban elementary reform; why reform efforts failed to achieve their intended outcomes is explained; and ways to improve future urban education reforms are identified.