Book excerpt: Offers advice for closing the achievement gap of low-income African American students in urban schools -- Focuses on issues of assessment for K-12 students and teachers of color -- Explores the declining number of teachers of color in the United States and its relation to school failure among African American and Latino students -- Outlines a curriculum for teacher education programs to help them produce culturally aware and effective teachers -- Examines how colleges of education can reverse the cycle of failure for students of color by producing teachers who are culturally responsive -- Concludes with a summary of the work and recommendations of such scholars as James A. Banks and Sonia Nieto.