The preparation of preservice teachers plays a major role in closing the achievement gap in the education of urban children. Urban teachers often do not understand how their low expectations and deficit assumptions influence their instructional practices and contribute to a widening achievement gap between urban and non-urban students. Many teachers do not recognize that requirements for strengthening problem solving/higher order thinking skills include increasing vocabulary, language skills, and comprehension through their instructional strategies. Many urban preservice teachers do not enter teaching with proper content knowledge or information about education for all students. Research shows that urban preservice teachers are predicted to have achievement gaps in their content competencies, which can result in their failure to pass Praxis II tests. The following are strategies to help close preservice teachers' gaps in content knowledge and teaching skills: teacher education programs must place greater emphasis on preparation in content areas; urban teacher educators (UTEs) must find the specific deficit areas of preservice teachers from less advantaged backgrounds and provide instruction to close the gap in their assumptions earlier in their preservice programs; and UTEs must demonstrate that the experiences and cultural backgrounds diverse children bring to urban schools are strengths, not deficits. (SM)