"As never before, closing the achievement gap is in everyone's interest and the nation's leaders know it....The pages of this volume both report and embody the type of work necessary to make the dream of achievement equality come true....I learned a lot from reading [this book] and I trust that you will too." —From the Foreword by Ronald F. Ferguson

"A superb array of inroads into adolescent literacy, this book is brimming with the best contemporary thinking. Across the spectrum, teachers and curriculum designers will find fuel for reforms and rejuvenation of their programs." —John T. Guthrie, University of Maryland

This book addresses critical issues related to pre-adolescent and adolescent literacy learners with a focus on closing the achievement gap. Despite efforts by educators and policymakers during the past several decades, certain groups of students--primarily African American students, English language learners, and students from low-income homes--continue to underperform on commonly used measures of academic achievement. Too often, teachers and administrators lack both proper preparation and good ideas to confront these issues.

Part I of this volume contains essential background information about specific populations of learners who are not achieving as well as expected.

Part II provides descriptions of promising programs that are authored and co-authored by practitioners and researchers working collaboratively.

The result is a valuable resource for those involved in teaching and setting policy for literacy education in grades 4-12.

Dorothy S. Strickland is the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Professor of Education at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. Donna E. Alvermann is Distinguished Research Professor of Reading Education at the University of Georgia.