Unfulfilled Expectations
by Catherine E. Snow, Wendy S. Barnes, Jean Chandler, Irene F. Goodman, and Lowry Hemphill
Published in 2000 by IUniverse

This is an excellent and very thorough examination of the various family and school influences that affect student achievement.  A group of low-income children from linguistically and culturally diverse backgrounds is examined over a two-year period.  Their family dynamics, school dynamics, and interrelationships between the two worlds are described in, at times, embarrassing detail.  Variables such as instructional strategies, teachers quality, reading and writing habits, homework, mobility, parent-teacher interactions, discipline, truancy, motivation, parent support and guidance and many more are examined and discussed.  

A follow-up study four years later describes the academic and personal trajectory of children in the original study.  Their challenges, their talents, their plans and ambitions are discussed -- some are already having difficulty with the law, others are fairing better.  The quality of the teacher in the younger grades plays an enormously important role in the prospects of the children in this study, but their home and social influences play a role as well.  Some of the children who were fortunate to have high-quality instruction from talented teachers none-the-less were having difficulties in school and in life by the time of the follow-up study.

The interaction between supportive parents and high-quality teachers was the most robust foundation for these children, but in the absence of supportive parents, the teacher still had the potential to significantly improve each child's prospects for success.  In the absence of high-quality teachers, the prospects were quite grim indeed.  

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Starting Out Right
by M. Susan Burns, Catherine E. Snow, Peg Griffin, Betty Alberts
Published in 1999 by National Academies Press

When "Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children" was published, a companion book was also developed to give parents useful information about what they can do to help their children develop into successful readers.  The focus of Starting Out Right is on the elements of early reading, activities that parents can do at home to foster and promote the development of literacy skills, and some warning signs that parents should look for as their children start to develop basic reading skills.  The book goes on, however, to give parents information about questions they should ask teachers, school boards, and other policymakers about reading instruction.  

Overall, this is an easy-to-read book for reasonably well-educated parents.  It would make a good gift for the parents of a newborn, and it offers some information and advice that may help parents to better help their children to develop literacy skills.  It is also a good resource book for people who interact with parents of very young children.  Day-care providers, social workers, and pediatricians should read this book so they can offer useful advice to parents of young children who may not be willing or able to read this book themselves.