Exploring Unequal Achievement in the Schools: The Social Construction of Failure

For over a half century, educational sociologists have struggled to explain the cause of differential academic achievement in the school. This book attempts to offer an explanation by examining the role played by ascribed characteristics of students (race, gender, and class) and educational practices and structures of schools (testing, tracking, and teacher expectations) as they combine to create a self-fulfilling prophesy of behavior and belief.