Recently a study considered strategies that can help close achievement gaps and get students learning at grade level. The study -- which included an examination of personalized learning versus rigorous curricula -- found that struggling students can improve if they have caring relationships with their teachers, an environment that nurtures agency and access to quality and coherent content, among other factors.
Bellwether Education Partners. (2018). The opportunity myth. New York, NY: TNTP.
https://tntp.org/assets/documents/TNTP_The-Opportunity-Myth_Web.pdf