From the Introduction to Mike Schmoker’s Results Now:

…historic improvement isn’t about “reform” but something much simpler: a tough, honest self-examination of the prevailing culture and practices of public schools, and a dramatic turn toward a singular and straightforward focus on instruction. p. 2

…most – though not all – instruction is mediocre or worse…educators in overwhelming majorities have agreed that there is indeed a yawning gap between the most well-known, incontestably essential practices and the reality of most classrooms. p. 2

The changes that will have the most impact on student learning require only reasonable efforts and adjustment, not more time. As Collins writes, greatness can be achieved “without increasing the number of hours we work.”

Perhaps our chief obstacle is the prevailing perception that because most educators work hard and with dedication, we are within reason doing most of what’s necessary for good schools. This is simply not the case. The system itself has prevented even the most talented and industrious among us from seeing this pronounced gap between poor and effective practices. p. 4

Be prepared: Section 1 contains a frank criticism of typical schooling. The purpose here is not to discourage but to point to how existing funds of time, talent, and money are being misdirected. That is, they are being diverted from our greatest opportunity for better schools: a simple, unswerving focus on those actions and arrangements that ensure effective, ever-improving instruction. p. 5

…the key components of effective schools are “not a mystery,” even though they are exceedingly rare. Teachers themselves agree that these practices are widely known, that they can and should be carried out by people in any school and with current levels of funding – and that these practices can demonstrate how additional funding and higher teacher salaries could leverage even greater improvements. p. 5-6

The school [that made tremendous achievement gains] set goals and identified areas of weakness. The staff made arrangements for teachers to work regularly in teams to share, prepare, assess, and then adjust their teaching on the basis of formative assessment results – a virtual definition of a true professional learning community. Along with these steps, school leaders employed the talents of their best teachers – their in-house experts – to coach their colleagues toward better practices. p. 6

Schmoker makes the case, as the above quotes illustrate, that school leaders can bring about dramatic improvements in a short period of time by making certain high-leverage changes in instructional leadership. He wastes no time in pointing out opportunities for serious improvement, and marshals convincing statistics and vignettes to make the case that change is not only possible, but an ethical mandate.

The first opportunity to improving our schools: eliminating “the buffer.” Schmoker tackles the buffer in chapter 1.