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.
Ensuring All Students Count in School Ratings
This post first appeared on the PIE Network's website, where they invited us and others to answer the question: Without ESSA regs, how do we leverage the law?S…
On Mission and Movements: John King’s First Day at Ed Trust
by Robin HarrisFor two decades Ed Trust staff and education advocates all over the country have been motivated by a guiding question: What would Kati do? #WWKD. But a few we…
Why Closing Gaps in Graduation Rates Requires a Focus on Enrollment
If every college and university closed the gap that exists in graduation rates between Black and White students on their campuses, there would still be a gap n…
Academic Progress in Today’s World: What Students Need
by DeJernet FarderAs a first-grade teacher in Chicago, I believe that every brain should have the opportunity to learn. I am confident that my colleagues, my students, and their…
In the Classroom, Experience Is Two-Fold
We already know that low-income children, children of color, and English learners are more likely to be assigned to a brand-new teacher than their wealthier an…
Here Are Some Schools You Should Visit, Secretary DeVos
On one of her first days on the job, Betsy DeVos did what any U.S. Secretary of Education might do: She visited a public school.Such an event might have gone r…
OASIS at Work: Redesigning Courses to Boost Completion
by Bonita BrownWhat happens when you bring institutional leaders from 10 campuses together to exchange ideas about student success? That’s exactly what the OASIS Network was …
Between the Echoes: What Real Classroom Engagement Sounds Like
by Brooke HaycockAn offshoot of Ed Trust’s Echoes From the Gap series, drawing stories of students from behind the statistics, this blog series shares shorter narratives — brie…
A Tale of Two Colleges: Similar Students and Different Results
by Andrew Howard NicholsAs the college admission letters start to trickle in, young adults across the country are facing one of the largest investment choices of their lives: where to…
Congress Gets the Ball Rolling on Higher Ed
by Kelly McManusThis morning, José Luis Cruz, an Ed Trust board member and former member of our OASIS network, testified at a Congressional hearing on the opportunities and ch…
DeVos Hearing: What We Heard and What We Didn’t
by Kelly McManusLast night, education secretary nominee Betsy DeVos did what advocates are supposed to do: Point out a problem and make a case for their theory of action for h…
Martin Luther King Jr.: The Chief Aim of Education Is to Save Man From the Morass of Propaganda
This post first appeared at the Huffington Post.Many of the civil rights movement’s demands had to do with the unequal schools and truncated educational opport…
What We’ll Be Listening for in Betsy DeVos’ Confirmation Hearing
by Kelly McManusPresident-elect Donald Trump has nominated Betsy DeVos for U.S. Secretary of Education, and on Jan. 17, she will appear in front of the Senate HELP Committee f…
PISA Headlines Are More Complicated Than They Seem
by Natasha Ushomirsky and Samantha BommeljeOver the past week, we’ve seen two big headlines emerge about the 2015 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) results. One focuses on declines i…
A Teachable Moment in Deeply Troubled America
by Brooke Haycock"Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them." — James BaldwinIn the weeks since the election, …
Pushing, Prodding, and Cajoling Our Country Toward Educational Justice — Even Amidst Alarming Times
by Kati HaycockThis first appeared on Huffington Post.Count me among those who have been deeply worried about what the next four years will mean for social and educational ju…
Update: So What Is PISA, and What’s All of the Fuss About?
by Ed TrustThe Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is one of the best ways — one of the only ways, in fact — that we have of comparing our teenagers’ kn…
Celebrate Grad Rates, Yes, But Don’t Sit Back Just Yet
by Andy SmithEach year, millions of students enter ninth-grade to begin their final stretch toward earning a high school diploma. Four years later, parents, families, and f…
#TeachDiverse: Black Teachers for More Than Just Black Students
by Jack FlemingUPDATED 8/29/18: Unfortunately, Storify, the service we used to compile the content from the chat, has been discontinued.For regular conversations about teache…
Stop Blaming Students
A recent Education Week headline brought my scanning eyes to a screeching halt: “High School Poverty, Minority Enrollment, Undermine College Progress, Study Fi…
