The Equity Line contains original analyses, commentary, and “on the ground” stories of students, parents, educators, and activists all over the nation striving to improve education. It chronicles our efforts, as well as those of partners and friends who are working toward the shared goal of closing gaps.
#AccessMeans Opportunity for All Students
A national social media campaign is showing that, while sometimes tagged as lazy, this generation of millennials — especially those of color — are breaking dow…
Gainful Rule Is Exactly What Students of Color Need
Enough with the argument that the proposed gainful employment regulation is a disservice to black, brown, and low-income students. What the National Black Cham…
Less Testing Is Not the Answer
by Latasha MyersLumped in with the controversy around the Common Core State Standards is an anti-testing sentiment that fails to understand the repercussions of eliminating us…
It’s Not All Rosy in PISA Problem-Solving Data
by Allison HorowitzThe conversation around the new data from the Programme for International Student Assessment on students’ problem-solving abilities has demonstrated, once agai…
From Cowboys to Pit Crews
by Karin ChenowethI’ve spent 10 years focused on the lessons that high-performing and rapidly improving high-poverty schools have to teach us, and what I’ve found is that they h…
The Achievement Gap Affects High Achievers, Too
by Kati HaycockAs I journey around the country talking with educators working hard on “closing the achievement gap,” I have come to realize that the top tier of achievement i…
Why the Ryan Budget Is Bad for Pell Grant Students
by Kate TrombleRep. Paul Ryan’s fiscal year 2015 budget proposal, released today, offers up severe cuts ($791 billion over 10 years) to education and other non-defense progra…
Smart Common Core Fixes Mean New Yorkers Can Get Back to Work
by Daria HallFor months, educators, policymakers, and parents in New York have been embroiled in debate about the future of the Common Core State Standards. Some have surfa…
Abandoning the Common Core Is Taking the Easy Way Out
by Sonja Brookins SantelisesThis post originally appeared at the Fordham Institute’s Flypaper blog.While the New York State United Teachers and the National Education Association have wit…
Hard-Won Lessons From an Improving School District
by Karin ChenowethIn the past 10 years I have written two books and co-written a third about the role schools have in helping kids achieve academic success; I am convinced that …
Kudos — and Cautions — on the New CRDC Data
by Daria HallData from the U.S. Department of Education’s Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) cast new light on the shameful fact that students of color get less than their…
Are Most Teachers Really in Their First Year?
by Marni Bromberg“Back (in the late 1980s), the most common teacher in America was a 15-year veteran; two decades later, she was a first-year neophyte.” This quote comes from a…
Colleges Get Helping Hand in Obama’s Budget
by Joseph YeadoWe’re not naïve. We’re not optimistic that the Obama higher education budget proposal will be adopted by this Congress. But the initiatives included are import…
Echoing Our Readers Back
by Brooke HaycockWhen we released “The Writing on The Hall,” the first installment of our new Echoes From the Gap series, we didn’t just want to release a different kind of pap…
What’s Homework For?
by Karin ChenowethReading about a recent survey on homework reminded of my own struggles as a parent standing over my kids to make sure they put in their second shift. Once they…