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.
Recognizing the Voices of Black Teachers
by Ashley Griffin“The first step on the road to justice is to provide the oppressed with a voice to tell their story.” —Adrienne D. Dixson and Celia K. Rousseau, Critical Race …
In Passing the Baton to the Next Champions for Equity
by Kati HaycockThis is a speech delivered at the PIE Network’s Annual Meeting earlier this month.I’m something of a newspaper junkie. When my morning Washington Post and New …
Middle-Grades Students Are Up for Discussion — And That Might Be Just What America Needs Right Now
by Brooke HaycockMiddle school, where Mercury is in constant retrograde.Where we quarantine America’s young adolescents in a humid petri dish of hormones, flavored lip gloss co…
Ed Trust Assignment Analysis: From Then to Now — to You
by Brooke Haycock and Keith DysarzAs educators work to implement new standards and improve instruction, Ed Trust offers a resource for examining classroom assignments and starting conversations…
What Do Black Teachers Say?
by Ashley GriffinA couple of recent reports have utilized national survey data to raise critical questions about why teachers of color leave the profession. But these reports —…
America’s College Attainment Problem Is About More Than Affordability
Amid mounting concerns about the cost of college and toppling student loan debt, policymakers are proposing various forms of relief, from increased financial s…
Tackling Achievement Gaps From Summer Learning Loss
A well-designed summer program can help low-income students read and do math better. In fact, attending a summer program regularly for as little as five weeks …
Holding Up Data as a Mirror
by Bonita BrownThis op-ed first appeared at Inside Higher Ed.Around this time every year, as colleges and universities begin to spring back to life, I am reminded of my years…
Black and Proud: MLK, BLM, and Today’s Education Reformers
by Robin HarrisThis piece was originally published in New America’s digital magazine, The New America Weekly. Sunday marked the 53rd anniversary of the March on Washington an…
Letting Students Take the Lead
by Matthew StensrudLast school year, our principal invited me to take part in instructional rounds — an observation-based approach to better understand the learning occurring in …
What Students Have to Gain From the Arts
by Matthew Stensrud“The simple fact is, every child in this country needs and deserves access to the subjects that go into being a well-rounded, well-educated person. Music and a…
Love Isn’t All We Need In America Right Now
In the online comment section under news articles on recent shootings of and by police are missives from pained, well-intentioned Americans, crying various the…
The $500 Million Club in Higher Ed
by Gail ZuagarA new report we’ve released today shows that just 3.6 percent of colleges and universities — 138 in all — held a whopping 75 percent of all postsecondary endow…
Letter to America: Achieving Racial Justice Is a Job for All of Us
by Kati Haycock“Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear drenched commun…
New Video Highlights Key Components of ESSA
by Emily PickrenCurious about what’s in the Every Student Succeeds Act, or ESSA, the new education law that replaced No Child Left Behind?Check out our new video that highligh…
Present in the Story of Student Absenteeism
by Brooke HaycockThe data on chronic student absenteeism released earlier this month by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights are jaw-dropping.In one schoo…
Want to Know How Well Students Are Performing in Your State? Check Out Our Updated Interactive Tool!
by Emily PickrenDo you know how well students are performing in your state? Are they faring better or worse than students across the country? Are there other states that you c…
Georgia State: Leading the Way in Student Success
by Mandy ZatynskiLast week, PBS NewsHour profiled Georgia State University’s efforts to boost success among students of color, those from low-income families, and students who …
A Tale of Two Seventh-Graders
by Brooke HaycockThe following story is adapted from our Equity in Motion convening, when Sonja Brookins Santelises — our outgoing vice president for K-12 policy and practice, …
Classroom Training Wheels Are Not Forever
by Rachel MetzOur latest analysis of classroom assignments found a troubling mismatch in the level of rigor demanded by high standards and the level asked for in day-to-day …
