The achievement gap that exists between Black and White students--even those from similar economic backgrounds--is an ongoing challenge for educators. Although schools receive much of the blame, the gap is more the result of social class characteristics that go beyond even the best schools and teachers. Raising the achievement of lower-class children requires the amelioration of the social and economic conditions of their lives, not just school reform. [This article is adapted from "Class and Schools: Using Social, Economic, and Educational Reform to Close the Black-White Achievement Gap" (Teachers College Press, 2004).]