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Safe to be Smart: Building a Culture for Standards-Based Reform in the Middle Grades

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Anne Wheelock describes the promises and pitfalls of the academic standards movement, with a middle grades focus. While she agrees that standards can help shape better teaching for all students, she warns that without careful attention to professional development and the impact of a school's "culture" on change efforts, standards could further penalize students who are already overlooked and underserved.

This comment from the foreword is worth noting: "This book is not for the faint-hearted. It lets no one - students, teachers, administrators - off the hook. If readers take it seriously, as they should, it will lead to more hard work. But both the work and results will be infinitely more gratifying than is currently the case in most schools."