Getting to Excellent is for everyone--educators, parents, civic leaders--who want students to think sharply, like learning, and have the high literacy skills that will open the path to success in school, work, and life. Using data from her groundbreaking study of diverse middle and high schools, Judith Langer shows us what makes the difference between highly effective schools and typical, business-as-usual schools. The text includes checklists to help administrators, teachers, and others place their own schools on the continuum from "typical" to "excellent" to identify areas that need improvement.