Stephan Thernstrom

American historian and academic specializing in social history, immigration, and urban studies; longtime Harvard faculty member and author, often associated with work on ethnicity and social mobility.

This list of books are ONLY the books that have been ranked on the lists that are aggregated on this site. This is not a comprehensive list of all books by this author.

  1. 1. No Excuses

    Closing the Racial Gap in Learning

    Argues that persistent achievement gaps between racial and ethnic groups are driven more by family structure, early childhood environment, and cultural expectations than by school funding alone; using test data and case studies, it challenges explanations that emphasize poverty or systemic bias and calls for higher academic standards, stricter discipline, stronger teacher accountability, targeted early interventions, and expanded school choice to raise performance for disadvantaged children.