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Book Review of Schooling Students Placed At Risk, by Mavis G. Sanders

Low international rankings, high rates of student failure, disengaged children, and an ever increasing need for change and improvement typify the American school system. Few would disagree that our nation’s schools are “at risk.” America’s public schools have come under scrutiny from politicians, policymakers, parents, and average citizens. In Schooling Students Placed At Risk, Mavis Sanders examines the state of schools today, focusing on the plight of poor and minority adolescents. Schooling Students Placed At Risk offers a historical, empirical, and strategic look at the challenges faced by middle and high school students. The goal of the volume is to provoke discussion among policymakers and practitioners. Sanders notes that the chapters do not provide “definitive answers” but “offer suggestions about, identify obstacles to, and provide examples of educational practices and reforms that can make a difference in the schooling and life chances of poor and minority adolescents” (p. xx). The book succeeds in its stated goal through an examination of the many challenges faced daily by children who live in poverty and a discussion of possible strategies for overcoming these challenges. Sanders divides the book into four sections, each addressing an aspect of the education of at-risk students. This organization contributes to the book’s readability through an examination of the historical perspective, followed by diverse research studies, and finally a look at reform strategies that hold promise for the education of at-risk children. In the first chapter, Franklin defines the population that will be examined in the following pages, a distinction that at once gives pause to those who quickly referJOURNAL OF EDUCATION FOR STUDENTS PLACED AT RISK, 8(2), 267–269 Copyright © 2003, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.