Raising Black Students' Achievement Through Culturally Responsive Teaching, Nov/2010

While there are theories about how to close the achievement gap between black students and their white peers, what you need is the real low-down from frontline educators who know what works. Here’s a book that gives you that plus a whole-school plan for raising the achievement of these chronically underserved students. Drawing from her work with teachers and school leaders who have narrowed achievement gaps in their schools, Johnnie McKinley lays out the instructional, management, and assessment strategies that make you far more effective at educating black students. As McKinley takes you through the steps of creating a teacher team and instructional walkthroughs, she imparts essential principles of culturally responsive teaching, such as

Five root causes of the achievement gap between black students and their white peers.

Five factors that are key to closing achievement gaps.

Ten most effective strategies for raising the achievement of black students.

Based on these tenets of Culturally Responsive Teaching, the book provides you with a schoolwide plan that includes

Instructional practices that instill content mastery by scaffolding to student’s home cultures and responding to student traits and needs.

Classroom contexts that support learning through positive interactions, culturally-matched discipline, and productive learning environments.

Assessment practices that provide constructive feedback to students to help them excel on high—stakes standardized tests.