In an age of educational accountability and school competition, the gap between current poor-urban school performance and standards of excellence remains glaringly obvious. As poor-urban schools scramble to "close the gap," many abandon sound pedagogy, becoming entrenched in a curriculum where basic-skills worksheets are the primary method of educational delivery resulting in a disconnect between pedagogically sound educational practices and those very students that need it most. Two literacy pilot programs are discussed as applied examples showing that good teaching and accountability result in increases in early reading skills as measured by the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test-Revised (R.W. Woodcock, 1998). Results are discussed in light of raised teacher expectations, assessment-driven small class grouping, and active student learning. In a supportive, challenging environment, the basis for a pedagogy of risk taking emerges. (Contains 1 table and 2 figures.)