What drives decisions about what gets taught, how, and to whom? In some districts, teachers base these decisions on the organization of textbooks, the timing of pacing charts, or lesson plans from prior years. Often, they base curricular decisions on content that needs to be "covered." In contrast, in many of the United States' highest-performing urban schools that we have observed, teachers are making textbooks, workbooks, curriculum guides, and pacing charts secondary considerations. Their purpose is to teach in a way that is driven primarily by a commitment to ensuring that all students master agreed-on essentials. This distinction is not merely philosophical or theoretical. It is grounded in everyday practices. Since 2005, the National Center for Urban School Transformation has identified and studied more than 90 urban schools that achieve impressive results. (See criteria.) These elementary, middle, and high schools do not use selective admission criteria, yet their achievement results exceed state averages. These schools boast high levels of achievement for every demographic of students they serve, including English language learners.