These days, the issue comes with a new urgency as both schools and their students face a battery of tests, tough new standards for promotion and mandated summer school.
Schools are under pressure to perform or risk being placed on the state's list of failures.
Principals no longer have tenure. And for the first time ever, the New York City Board of Education is considering putting some of the most troubled schools in private hands, to see if for-profit companies can do a better job. Looking for answers, Newsday has focused on three city schools engaged in ambitious efforts to improve reading and boost test scores. The methods used and demographics in each school varied widely. Some had a longer, tougher road to climb.