Narrator: In 1999, the first graduating class of the KIPP Academy middle school in the South Bronx was a symbol of educational triumph. These students, mostly from low-income families, had been recruited four years earlier with a single promise: climb the mountain to college. Through sheer will and a revolutionary new style of schooling, they had done the impossible. Their eighth-grade test scores were the fifth-highest in all of New York City, outperforming schools in the wealthiest districts. They were featured on 60 Minutes and in the New York Times. They were, by all accounts, destined for success. Yet, a decade later, a startling reality emerged. Only a third of them had graduated from a four-year college. If academic rigor and high test scores weren't enough to guarantee success, what was missing? This is the central question at the heart of Paul Tough’s book, How Children Succeed. Tough embarks on a journey to dismantle what he calls the "cognitive hypothesis"—the widespread belief that success is determined by innate intelligence and early academic skills. Instead, he uncovers a growing body of research suggesting that the most critical factors are non-cognitive skills, or what we might call character: qualities like grit, curiosity, self-control, and optimism. The book argues that these traits are not just important; they are the hidden drivers of a successful life, and more importantly, they can be taught.

Narrator: The book begins not with high-achieving students, but with those facing the most profound challenges. At Fenger High School on Chicago’s South Side, Principal Elizabeth Dozier arrived believing that strong leadership and dedicated teachers could overcome any obstacle. She quickly discovered this was not true. Her students were not just struggling with academics; they were dealing with the deep and lasting effects of trauma. This reality is given a scientific framework through the work of pediatrician Dr. Nadine Burke Harris and the groundbreaking Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study.

The ACE study revealed a stunning dose-response relationship between childhood trauma—such as abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction—and negative health outcomes in adulthood, including heart disease and depression. Tough explains that this isn't just a psychological phenomenon; it's a biological one. Chronic stress in childhood over-activates the body's stress-response system, known as the HPA axis. This constant state of high alert creates what scientists call "allostatic load," a cumulative wear and tear on the body and brain. For a child, this overload can impair the development of the prefrontal cortex, the very part of the brain responsible for executive functions like self-control, focus, and emotional regulation. In essence, the book argues that the first and most significant obstacle to success for many children isn't a lack of cognitive ability, but the biological damage inflicted by an unstable and threatening environment.

Narrator: If chronic stress can rewire a child's brain for failure, what can protect it? Tough finds the answer in the science of attachment. He points to the fascinating research of neuroscientist Michael Meaney, who studied the behavior of rat mothers and their pups. Meaney observed that some mothers were "high-licking-and-grooming" (high-LG), meaning they were exceptionally nurturing, while others were not. The pups of high-LG mothers grew up to be calmer, bolder, and more resilient to stress. Remarkably, this effect was not genetic. When pups of low-LG mothers were raised by high-LG mothers, they adopted the same resilient traits.

This research provides a biological basis for what psychologists have long known through attachment theory. A secure, nurturing bond with a primary caregiver acts as a powerful buffer against the toxic effects of stress. When a child is comforted and reassured after a stressful experience, their HPA axis learns to return to a calm baseline. This process helps build the neural pathways necessary for healthy self-regulation. Tough argues that this is the first and most critical intervention. Before a child can learn the alphabet or develop grit, they need a secure attachment that teaches their brain and body that the world can be a safe place.

Narrator: As KIPP schools tracked their alumni, they discovered that the students who succeeded in college weren't always the ones with the highest IQs. They were the ones who possessed a different set of skills: optimism, resilience, and social intelligence. This led KIPP co-founder David Levin to the work of psychologist Angela Duckworth and her research on "grit."

Duckworth defines grit as the tendency to apply passion and perseverance to long-term goals. It's a combination of determination and direction. To measure it, she developed a simple self-report questionnaire called the Grit Scale. The scale's predictive power proved to be astonishing. At the West Point military academy, for example, Duckworth administered the Grit Scale to over 1,200 incoming cadets. She found that a cadet's grit score was a more reliable predictor of who would survive the grueling initial training than the military's own comprehensive "Whole Candidate Score," which included SAT scores, class rank, and physical fitness. Grit, the book explains, is a distinct trait that is only weakly correlated with IQ. It is this quality of relentless determination, of finishing what you begin, that often separates those who succeed from those who stumble.

Narrator: If character skills like grit and self-control are so important, how are they developed? Tough finds a compelling answer in an unlikely place: the chess room of a low-income middle school in Brooklyn, IS 318. Under the guidance of their coach, Elizabeth Spiegel, the school's chess team consistently defeats teams from the nation's wealthiest private schools.

Spiegel’s method is not about memorizing openings or drilling tactics. It’s about teaching her students how to think. After every game, she conducts a rigorous postmortem, forcing students to analyze their own mistakes. She doesn't just ask what move they should have made; she asks them why they made the move they did. This process of metacognition—thinking about one's own thinking—is a powerful tool for building executive functions. It forces students to slow down, inhibit their impulsive first reactions, and consider alternatives. By confronting their failures on the chessboard, students learn to separate their identity from their mistakes. As Spiegel tells them, losing is something you do, not something you are. This analytical, self-critical mindset is a form of cognitive self-control that is essential for mastery in any complex field.

Narrator: The final part of the book brings these ideas together to tackle the problem of college completion. Tough cites the research from the book Crossing the Finish Line, which found that high school GPA is a far better predictor of college graduation than SAT or ACT scores. Why? Because while standardized tests are a good proxy for IQ, GPA is a proxy for conscientiousness and grit—the ability to show up, do the work, and persevere over a long period.

This is the principle behind OneGoal, a program founded by Jeff Nelson to help underperforming, low-income students in Chicago succeed in college. OneGoal's curriculum explicitly teaches the non-cognitive skills that are often the difference between success and failure. Students learn resourcefulness, resilience, professionalism, and ambition. The story of Kewauna Lerma, a OneGoal student, provides a powerful example. Despite a traumatic childhood and a low ACT score, Kewauna thrived in her freshman year of college, earning a 3.8 GPA. She did it by being proactive, building relationships with professors, and applying the grit she had developed through a lifetime of overcoming adversity. Her story demonstrates that for students who lack a financial safety net, character is the essential tool that allows them to cross the finish line.

Narrator: The single most important takeaway from How Children Succeed is that the skills that matter most are not fixed at birth. Character is a set of skills, not a set of traits. Success is not a product of innate intelligence, but of a particular combination of qualities like persistence, curiosity, and self-control that can be nurtured and taught.

The book leaves us with a profound challenge that extends beyond the classroom. It forces us to reconsider not only how we educate children in poverty, but also how we raise children in privilege. In our quest to protect our children from hardship, we may be shielding them from the very experiences of failure and adversity that are necessary to build true, lasting character. The ultimate question, then, is not just how we can help children succeed, but whether we are creating the conditions that allow them to develop the strength of character to navigate a complex and unpredictable world.