Focus

Elevating the Essentials to Radically Improve Student Learning

By: Mike Schmoker

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eText | 25 February 2026 | Edition Number 3

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Published: 16th July 2018

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In this revised and refreshed third edition, Mike Schmoker renews and amplifies the case that our schools could be on the cusp of swift, unparalleled improvements if only we could... Focus.

Despite mountains of research that reveal which practices have more impact on student learning than all other initiatives combined, we have yet to focus our limited time and energy in the right direction. Namely, we have failed to implement

• Simple, coherent curricula.
• Straightforward, traditional literacy practices.
• Lessons built around just a few hugely effective elements of good teaching.

Schmoker demonstrates how the need for these practices has grown prodigiously, yet we continue to be stymied by a systemwide failure to simplify and prioritize.

Whether you're looking for new insights from the previous editions or are looking to elevate students' success with this third edition, you'll find practical advice in each chapter on how to address and reverse this problem. In addition, Schmoker reveals the hidden pitfalls of our most popular but unproven instructional fads and programs and highlights simple, versatile strategies for building curriculum, planning lessons, and integrating literacy into every discipline.