This process by which students develop their ability to think is what Hammond calls intellective capacity, also known as “fluid intelligence” or “intellective competence.” To encourage this intellective capacity, Hammond suggests a framework called “Ready for Rigor,” in which teachers become better equipped. Hammond argues that culturally responsive teaching practices are necessary for moving students away from passive, dependent learning to independent learning, where higher order thinking paves the way for “new cognitive skills and habits of mind that will actually increase their brainpower” (14). To become independent learners, students must be given the opportunity to develop cognitive skills and processes that facilitate learning by means of critical and creative thinking.
In her opening chapter, Hammond establishes that underserved students of color, including students who are linguistically and culturally diverse, have been affected by systems of inequity these systems have held them back from becoming independent learners. In her book Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain, Zaretta Hammond writes that by third grade, many culturally and linguistically diverse students are one or more years behind in reading.CRT is one of the most impactful tools for empowering students to find their way out of that achievement gap.
