Dear Mr. Raspberry:

I have been reading your columns with great interest regarding the work of the Thernstroms in their book, "No Excuses: Closing the Racial Gap in Learning." I do understand that the attitude of students toward learning is important, yet I wonder why we often point a finger of blame in the direction of the learners or their parents rather than those in systems who are paid to educate them. Though I find the Thernstrom's book to be important, of more importance is that it verifies some of the ideas put forth by John Ogbu in "Black American Students in an Affluent Suburb" (who, as you know and have reported, did a scholarly job of identifying numerous factors leading to the achievement gap).

Our work in urban centers throughout this country suggests that what remains central to eliminating the achievement gap is not solely one of changing the attitudes of students, or their parents regarding achievement, rather it remains the job of the teacher and the schools to find ways of accelerating learning for all. We have found in Seattle as an example, an analysis by the district shows that among pupils who failed the reading and writing portions of the Washington Assessment of Learning in 1999, African Americans (AA) made the greatest gains in 2002 who spent two years with literacy-trained teachers taking part in a systemwide professional development initiative. In fact these AA students doubled the achievement of similar AA students who did not receive instruction delivered by literacy-trained teachers.

This data is also bolstered further when one views the variance in achievement across similar schools in a district. Why, for an example, does one school in a predominately African-American neighborhood out perform a similar school in a similar neighborhood within a school district? The answer partially resides in the variance of what skilled educators are able to deliver to student cohorts. These schools do this without mysterious methods, programs or equipment. They do it mainly by exposing low income children of color to the same quality of instruction usually reserved for the more affluent and/or dominant groups in society, and by using proven systems for high performing schools.

Though we often write and share our ideas in refereed journals, in books and in op-ed pieces, most of the experience we and others have had does not make it into the popular press. Why? You might be able to answer this better than any of us. But I do have an answer to your question you posed today in your column, "How do we best use our intellectual, political and moral capital -- priming our children for success...?" The nation might do this by delivering increased resources as well as the best of research, practice and professional development in a manner which addresses the low expectations many in society continue to maintain for low income students, as well as changing the belief systems of educators by modeling, demonstrating and evaluating the eagerness and ability of all students to succeed. Our deepest delight is witnessing high achievement of students in the face of those who didn't think they could learn at the highest levels.

The task though remains difficult. All too often in communities where I live (Stamford, Connecticut), many of us who have children in the public schools advocate to reeducate parents and community stakeholders who want to blame the victims -- the students and their parents. There is not one of us who would disagree that students and parents have a major role to play in eliminating the gap, but others factors play an equal role. We argue that this is especially true given America's increasing reliance on other people's nonwhite children for this nation to maintain its success. Please understand that Americans still believe that high achievement is due to IQ capacity, but as has been reported in studies by Bok, Hodgkinson and others, Asian-American understand that it is not capacity which leads to advanced learning -- it is practice, collaboration and hard work.

With that said, I think your role in nurturing a public conversation remains paramount if we are to ever develop a collective American vision of education for all of the nation's diverse students. So with the deepest of gratitude, thank you for what you do.

Eric Cooper