Commentary: How to make high schools better places for students to learn

Instinctively, we all know that a huge gap exists between the best and worst high schools. But what does it take to create a truly good high school - a place where students aren't simply fed information but can grow as thinkers and as people? This is what the two of us set out to learn when we began writing a book on how to remake the American high school.

Our research in 30 public high schools across the country found that great high schools share something essential in common: They cultivate mastery, creativity and identity. In other words, students