You can get the grades out of the ghetto, but...

...you can't get the ghetto out of the grades.

Yeah. That whole thing about "school of choice" and putting inner-city students in nicer schools and neighborhoods to help boost grades and make better citizens? It's been officially debunked.

Unfortunately, the Washington Post article is mostly full of quotes from people trying to dream up ways to save the politically correct theory, who basically say that the students didn't move to good enough neighborhoods.

I do agree with this snippet, however:

...Many of the parents had little faith that better teaching in better schools would help their children. They felt it was up to their children to make education work.

My opinion? It's not a child's environment that affects his or her achievements. It's the culture of the home. Does the child's family value studying, hard work and independence? If not, that family is only awarding the child all the benefits of ghetto living. And not all cultures are created equal.