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The authors share the difference of how the education gap between minority and low-income students compares to the fortunate white students. These low-income students are usually seen in urban schools that are at a disadvantage because of their label as a "failing school". The authors conduct a chart that shows the number of free or reduced lunches, percent of minority students, the student teacher ratio and the percent of poverty rate of failing schools, choice schools and the mean difference in schools in North Carolina. The rates in failing schools were substantially higher than the ones in choice schools. This process was only conducted in North Carolina, but it would be very similar for all states.

The authors research the effects of public school choice in the state of South Carolina under the No Child Left Behind Act. It has been found that public schools are labeled "in need of improvement" if there is a large minority of students and a large amount of poverty independent of rural, suburban, or urban location. The article touches on all the spatial aspects of the academic achievement gap between public schools and how rural failing schools are the most disadvantaged. The research in the article is useful but it is limited to the state of South Carolina.

This article explains how graphing calculators can be used in calculus to benefit students, and also how graphing calculators are changing the way that calculus is being taught. One issue that sets this article apart from the other articles is its assessment of how students are required by most schools to purchase their own calculators. This article analyzes the effect this can have on how the class should be taught, and how calculators put students at advantages and disadvantages depending on how they are used, and how students with more computing power excelled or failed compared to those with the less powerful model of calculator.

In his new book, "Work Hard. Be Nice.", Jay Mathews claims that the Knowledge Is Power Program is the "best" program serving severely disadvantaged, minority-group students in America today.

Hill and Barth discuss the Federal Government's attempt to raise student achievement, especially in standardized testing, with the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). The NCLB's intent was to limit academic achievement gaps in students who are minorities, disabled, financially disadvantaged, or limited English proficiency. One of the biggest problems that has arisen from the law is teacher retention. The NCLB requires highly qualified teachers, but all the highly qualified teachers are not staying. The authors focus on this huge problem of teacher retention.