ABSTRACT
This chapter attempts to make the case that different types of schooling contexts play a special role in the development of academic ability of children and youth. Historically, schools have had goals of helping students acquire the knowledge, skills and disposition necessary for citizenship in a democracy and for contributing productively to the economy. Bronfenbrenner's ecological model of human development is borrowed here to focus on the multiple contexts of schooling and its direct and indirect influences on the academic development of children and youth abilities. Setting state standards and using standardized testing to enforce them at certain grades are two key distal influences that impact what schools do to improve the academic achievement of children and youth in certain subject areas and at certain grade levels. One of the challenges of schooling to develop the academic ability of all students is to provide access to well-qualified teachers.
