"Brookside Elementary in Norwalk, CT, is preparing for the first day of a new school year and another chance to improve its failing scores on the annual statewide standardized test known as the CMT. The challenges are many, and for the faculty--whose jobs may depend on their students' ability to improve on the test--the stakes are high. Ten-year-old Hydea is about to start fifth grade--with second-grade reading skills. Her friend Marbella is a little...