What about charter schools as an important new model for urban schooling? Katherine Merseth of Harvard University takes up this issue in this chapter. She outlines the essential components found in a number of high-performing Boston charter schools and discusses their potential contributions to our knowledge base about effective strategies for closing the achievement gap. Merseth also asks an important question about whether these high-achieving schools, which focus intensively on helping students meet state standards, put too low a priority on other types of learning that might be essential for college success.
