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.
When Tests Get Real
by Brooke HaycockTo the young leaders, the organizers, the rage against the machiners: I was you. Spelled America with three Ks. Wrote angry poetry on notepaper in the ba…
‘The Only Route for Poor Children Out of Poverty Is Us’
Craig Gfeller, principal of a small, high-poverty elementary school in exurban Washington, is adamant that his school provides opportunities for his students b…
An Updated College Results Online = More Data for You
by Meredith WelchCollege Results Online has been updated with the most recent data from the federal government (2012-13), giving you even more information to compare in this on…
Evaluating an Evaluation System: Lessons From a <i>New York Times</i> Graphic
by Marni BrombergTeacher evaluation systems are complex. There are a number of measures available — such as classroom observations, student achievement growth, and survey resul…
What Does Good Education Research Say?
In Huffington Post this week, I talk about a new movement of teachers who are taking control of their own professional development by seeking out rigorous cogn…
So What Does School Leadership Look Like?
I was just talking with a friend whose son is in his second year of teaching. During that entire time, his principal has been in his classroom only once for a …
States: What’s Your Plan for Ensuring Fair Access to Quality Teaching?
by Rachel MetzStrong teachers are key to raising achievement and closing gaps, but not all children have the same access to those teachers. Low-income students and students …
Appreciating Teachers Beyond Teacher Appreciation Week
by Rachel MetzIt’s Teacher Appreciation Week, and social media and teachers’ desks are filling up with expressions of gratitude for the extraordinarily important work that t…
‘Because Someone Did It for Me’
by Brooke HaycockYou can still see the stained watermark from the storm feet above eye level on the school walls. It was here, at a high school just off the highway that runs a…
NAEP Results Highlight Opportunity for Deeper Social Studies Integration
by Allison HorowitzThis week, the National Center for Education Statistics released new findings about middle school students’ performance in civics, geography, and U.S. history.…
Brains, Poverty, and Educators
Complex scientific studies are often misleadingly cited to bolster long-held political beliefs, and a recent study measuring the brains of children and adolesc…
‘Where Is the Compassion?’ Conversations About Baltimore and Educational Improvement
This week, I had dinner with my sister-in-law in Chevy Chase, Maryland, and was deeply immersed in our conversation about the Baltimore protests when a Jewish …
Between the Echoes: High School Show Down
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…
Why I Teach Where I Teach: Increasing Levels of Professional Autonomy and Commitment to Community
by Justin RobinsonJustin Robinson is a seventh-grade teacher at Samuel P. Massie Academy in Maryland, where more than 75 percent of students receive free or reduced-priced meals…
Teaching Vocab in a Way That Sticks
by Allison HorowitzIf students are going to be able to make sense of what they’re reading, express themselves, or interpret phrases used figuratively or symbolically, they need t…
Why Teach Where I Teach: Diversity With Splash of Arts Integration
by DeMarcus LewisDeMarcus Lewis, a seventh-grade educator, teaches global studies at Wiley H. Bates Middle School, a performing and visual arts magnet and Title I school in Ann…
Teachers as Civic Leaders
Faced with sniffling kindergarteners who can barely sit in their chairs, it can sometimes be difficult to see them as responsible adults 12 years hence; even h…
The FAFSA Divide: Getting More Low-Income Students to Apply for Aid
by Kimberlee Eberle-SudreAlmost 20 percent of students with family incomes low enough to qualify for a Pell Grant never even apply. And many more students who qualify for other types o…
Is Funding in Your State Equitable? A Tour of Our New Data Tool
by David WilliamsRecently, we released Funding Gaps 2015, along with an online data tool, which looks at local and state funding for high- and low-poverty school districts, as …
Traditional Autonomy Isn’t Necessarily Supportive
In Huffington Post this week I write about how most teachers think “supportive leadership” is very important to retaining good teachers.But what is supportive …
