Advancing Student Achievement

A renowned educator-psychologist explains how children learn and how family, classroom, and school practices can help them learn more effectively. In addition to drawing on studies of learning outcomes, Herbert Walberg reveals economic research on teacher education and school choice that challenges many popular assumptions. He debunks many of the myths of modern education and outlines the factors that psychologists have found consistently associated with high levels of classroom learning.

Walberg reveals why teachers’ classroom practices—not their credentials or experience—are what makes a true difference in student learning. He presents research, showing that young learners thrive when teachers have clear goals, plan effective activities to attain them, and measure student progress. The author also discusses the powerful influence of parents on what students learn within and outside school and how choice programs give parents a stronger role in their children’s education.