Raising the curve
Subtitle: teachers, students -- a true portrayal of classroom life
By: Ron Berler
Edition: Berkley trade paperback edition.
Publisher: Berkley Books
Published: 2014
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 280
ISBN-13: 9780425253649
Copyright date: 2013
Subjects: Brookside Elementary School (Norwalk, Conn.); Examinations; Case studies; School failure; Elementary schools
Other titles: Raising the curve : a year inside one of America's 45,000* failing public schools
Description: "Brookside Elementary in Norwalk, Connecticut, is preparing for the first day of a new school year and another chance to improve its failing scores on the annual statewide standardized test known as the CMT. The challenges are many, and for the faculty--whose jobs may depend on their students' ability to improve on the test--the stakes are high. Ten-year-old Hydea is about to start fifth grade with second-grade reading skills. Her friend Marbella is only a little further along. In past years, these students would have received help from the literacy specialist Mrs. Schaefer. But this year, due to cutbacks and a change in job descriptions she will have to select the few students whom she and the teachers can bet on--the ones who are close to passing the exams. And, for added measure, Principal Hay has already asked his faculty to teach to the test. Journalist Ron Berler spent a full year at Brookside. In Raising the Curve, he offers a nuanced and personal portrait of the students, teachers, and staff who make up the Brookside community, capturing their struggles as well as their pride, resilience, and spirited faith"--Page 4 of cover.
Notes: "Postscript by Ron Berler copyright © 2014 by Ron Berler"--Title page verso.

The hardcover edition, published in 2013, also by Berkley Books, has the subtitle: a year inside one of America's 45,000* failing public schools.