Despite growing interest in culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP), little research has examined its effect on student performance. In this article, we place CRP in a sociohistorical context and document how one intervention, Fresh Prep, draws on CRP to engage and instruct high school students identified as high risk for not graduating. Using a quasi-experimental matching methodology, we examine whether the program improves academic performance. We find Fresh Prep students have higher scores and pass rates on state English Language Arts and history exams than students in a matched comparison group, as well as retakers attending the same schools before its introduction.