Strategies for Fixing Failing Public Schools

F inding a glint of silver in the dark cloud that is urban education is becoming somewhat easier. Many districts are reporting rises in standardized-test scores. Some are requiring their schools to adopt a break-the-mold-model as part of a whole-school reform strategy. And in virtually every big-city district, some of the boldest and most promising reform experiments are underway.

Still, every big city district has too many low-performing, persistently failing schools. And while one failing school is too many, in some districts,...