Equity in Education

For low-income and minority students, education is the key to success and upward mobility. But evidence has shown in past decades that education has not been acting as the Great Equalizer. AIR's work covers a broad range of equity issues in education, through initiatives including the Equity Project, the Breakthroughs in Education and Social Mobility Research Speaker Series, and the Center for Education Equity (CEE) at the Mid-Atlantic Equity Consortium (MAEC), one of four regional equity assistance centers funded by the U.S. Department of Education. Led by MAEC in partnership with AIR and WestEd, CEE promotes equal educational opportunities and addresses problems in public schools caused by segregation and inequities.

Latest Work

23 Oct 2019
Spotlight

Addressing Challenges and Elevating Opportunities in Rural Education

Rural school districts, educators, and students have different experiences than their urban and suburban counterparts. The Regional Educational Laboratories (RELs) are designed to help fill this gap. These labs, which are funded by the Institute of Education Sciences in the U.S. Department of Education, serve as research alliances that examine and address high-priority regional needs, such as college and career readiness, educational equity, and teacher preparation and performance.
Image of young children looking at bugs in a field
23 Oct 2019
Q & A

Q&A: The Unique Assets and Challenges of Rural Education

As the Indiana State Liaison for REL Midwest, AIR Researcher Billie Day helps maximize opportunities for rural students, schools, and communities. She answered some questions about what assets and challenges affect rural education, some misconceptions about it, and her personal connection to the work.
14 Oct 2019
Brief

The Science of Learning and Development in Afterschool Systems and Settings

The SoLD Alliance is a collaborative effort to combine findings from diverse areas of research, from neuroscience to human development, into an integrated science of learning and development. It includes experts from AIR, EducationCounsel, the Forum for Youth Investment, Learning Policy Institute, Populace, and Turnaround for Children.
Image of AIR staff gathering before a tour of civil rights landmarks
30 Sep 2019
In the Field

Understanding Educational Inequality by Revisiting Civil Rights History

Educational equity means that all students, regardless of circumstances or location, have equal access to opportunities to succeed in the classroom and beyond. A group of AIR staff and clients participated in a civil rights learning journey across the South to better understand how the struggle for civil rights in the 1960s affects educational opportunities today.
26 Sep 2019
Blog Post

Addressing the Educator Pipeline Through Pathways and Partnerships

In this blog post, published as part of the work of the Midwest Comprehensive Center, Chris Times discusses how states can ensure that all students have access to excellent educators.
18 Sep 2019
Blog Post

Highlights from the America’s Children Report

Every year, the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics releases an annual report, America’s Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being. AIR subject matter experts have identified some interesting findings from several indicators in the 2019 report’s education domain and explain why they matter.
9 Sep 2019
Blog Post

Increasing Equitable Access to Quality Instruction: The Minnesota Standards Portal

In this blog post, published as part of the work of the Midwest Comprehensive Center, Marguerite Huber discusses an effort to create a centerpiece of support for teachers and districts implementing Minnesota state standards.
4 Sep 2019 | 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM
Event

Navigating the Complexities of Equity: A Demo of the AIR BLAAC Book (Webinar)

On September 4, 2019, the Southeast Comprehensive Center offered a webinar, Navigating the Complexities of Equity. The webinar gave participants a first look at the AIR BLAAC Book, a compilation of resources inspired by the The Negro Motorist Green Book; grounded equity-related understandings, plans, and actions in local, immediate, and historical realities linked to human and civil rights; provided opportunities for state and local leaders to engage in dialogue aimed at addressing equity issues for school improvement and effective implementation of ESSA plans; and moved participants to take action for educational equity.
24 Jun 2019
Spotlight

Spotlight on Personalized Learning

AIR believes that personalized learning efforts must have critical foundational elements, build in the relevant essential hallmarks, and opportunities to amplify learning with technology. Our approach to personalized learning draws upon our rigorous research base and strong field experience in facilitating educational system change efforts across the nation and globe.
5 Jun 2019
Blog Post

Promoting Equitable Education for American Indian Students

In this blog post, published as part of the work of the Midwest Comprehensive Center, Cora Goldston discusses how the Center has elevated the expertise of American Indian community members and state education agencies to support more equitable opportunities for American Indian students.
Image of woman next to a laptop displaying a map
11 Apr 2019
Video

Ensuring Educational Equity Through Accountable Leadership

Ensuring equitable access for all students is a persistent challenge in the education system. This video summarizes the Southeast Comprehensive Center's recent Equity Summit in Jackson, Mississippi, in which participants examined data on equity gaps in specific geographic areas.
5 Apr 2019
ESSA

ESSA Key Resources: Selecting the Right Evidence-Based Practices

Evidence-based practices play an important role in ESSA. AIR experts have compiled a list of key resources to help education leaders choose the right evidence-based practice or program for your district or school and bring positive outcomes for their students.
5 Apr 2019
ESSA

ESSA Action Guide │ Selecting Evidence-Based Practices for Low-Performing Schools

Evidence-based practices are commonly understood as those practices informed by research that lead to improved educational outcomes. This action guide offers education leaders three action steps to ensure the evidence-based practices they select meet ESSA requirements and fit their specific needs.
5 Apr 2019
ESSA

ESSA Action Guides

Signed into law in 2015, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is a commitment by Congress and the U.S. Department of Education to equal educational opportunity for all American students. As states continue to implement ESSA programs, AIR is providing a series of action guides to support and inform education leaders.
27 Mar 2019 | 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Event

Socioeconomic Inequality and Educational Outcomes: Evidence from Twenty Years of TIMSS

On March 27th, 2019, AIR hosted a presentation and discussion on the examination of socioeconomic inequality and educational outcomes using evidence from twenty years of data from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). The webinar presented new insights into how educational inequality has changed in the education systems studied and how such change may relate to the more complex picture of macroeconomic changes in those societies.
Illustration of Monique Chism
28 Feb 2019
Q & A

Meet the Expert: Monique M. Chism

Monique M. Chism, Ph.D., a vice president for Policy, Practice, and Systems Change, leads AIR’s six federally funded comprehensive and content centers and District and School Improvement portfolios. Prior to joining AIR, she served as deputy assistant secretary for policy and programs in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education at the U.S. Department of Education. She also brings experience from the Illinois State Board of Education, Learning Point Associates (now AIR), and her time as a teacher.
Image of staff member looking at Southern Poverty Law Center wall feature
25 Feb 2019
Spotlight

A Civil Rights Learning Journey

How does the civil rights movement of the 1960s continue to shape all aspects of society, including educational opportunities and outcomes for children? In November 2018, a group of AIR staff had the opportunity to better understand this legacy by participating in a civil rights learning journey across the South. The bus tour set the stage for an equity summit sponsored by AIR’s Southeast Comprehensive Center.
22 Feb 2019
Report

Status and Trends in the Education of Racial and Ethnic Groups 2018

Disparities in the educational participation and attainment of different racial/ethnic groups in the United States are well documented. This report profiles current conditions and recent trends in the education of students by racial and ethnic group.
3 Jan 2019
Q & A

Meet the Expert: Deborah Moroney

Dr. Deborah Moroney specializes in bridging research and practice, having worked as a staff member for out-of-school programs early in her career. She’s written practitioner and organizational guides; co-authored the fourth edition of “Beyond the Bell®, A Toolkit for Creating High-Quality Afterschool and Expanded Learning Programs,” a seminal afterschool resource; and co-edited Creating Safe, Equitable, Engaging Schools: A Comprehensive, Evidence-Based Approach to Supporting Students.
29 Nov 2018 to 30 Nov 2018
| 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Event

2018 Equity Summit - Accountable Leadership: Opportunities for Equitable Systems │Southeast Comprehensive Center

Ensuring equitable access for all students is a persistent challenge in the education system. The Southeast Comprehensive Center hosted an Equity Summit November 29–30, 2018, in Jackson, Mississippi, with the theme “Accountable Leadership: Opportunities for Equitable Systems.” Participants examined data on equity gaps in specific geographic areas and the role of education systems and leaders to create more equitable opportunities and outcomes. They also developed equity plans related to ESSA to implement in their states after the summit.
29 Nov 2018
Q & A

A Quick Word With: Courtney Tanenbaum

AIR Principal Researcher Courtney Tanenbaum describes the unique opportunities and challenges associated with The Title III Native American and Alaska Native Children in School (NAM) Program, which she and her colleagues evaluated.
29 Nov 2018
ESSA

ESSA │ Equity in Education

Educational equity is achieved when all students receive the resources, opportunities, skills, and knowledge they need to succeed in our democratic society. ESSA gives policymakers and educators the ability to leverage resources with the backing of the law to close opportunity gaps and improve learning outcomes for all students. Pinpointing the root cause of inequity is a complex matter and AIR has the knowledge and experience to help.
Image of Jameela Conway-Turner
9 Nov 2018
Video

Long Story Short: Why Is Social and Emotional Learning Important for Equity in Education?

In this video, AIR researcher Jameela Conway-Turner discusses how social and emotional learning can improve student outcomes and how districts and schools can use it in their equity initiatives to support all students.
Young children arm in arm
5 Sep 2018
Spotlight

Building Safe, Engaging, and Equitable Schools

There are no quick fixes or easy solutions to respond to the tragedies that have occurred in schools across the country—but there are evidence-based ways to change school environments so that students and teachers feel safer.
Image: Boy in wheelchair at desk
10 Jul 2018
Report

Fulfilling the Promise of IDEA

In the 40+ years since the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was enacted, the law has changed the landscape for students with disabilities. This report is the result of a working meeting of special education experts and stakeholders held to consider the challenges and opportunities for strengthening special education services and improving student outcomes.
Image of smiling young Native American boy in tunnel
29 Jun 2018
Report

Study of the Native American and Alaska Native Children in School Program: FY 2011 and FY 2013 Cohorts

The Native American and Alaska Native Children in School discretionary grants program aims to reduce the persistent achievement gap between Native American and Alaska Native youth and their peers in reading and English language arts and college readiness in reading. This qualitative study examined the types of activities grantees funded, and the perceived benefits, challenges, and lessons learned that they experienced in implementing these activities.
1 Jun 2018
ESSA

ESSA │Accountability

Accountability systems measure the performance and quality of schools and use these results to drive improvements in low-performing schools and report on the annual progress of all schools. The centers that AIR operates can harness the knowledge and experience of our staff to address this kind of request for assistance.
22 May 2018
Brief

The Summer After Kindergarten: Children’s Experiences by Socioeconomic Characteristics

This Statistics in Brief analyzes student's participation in summer activities compared by two socioeconomic characteristics - household poverty status and parents' highest level of education. Data for socioeconomic characteristics was gathered from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11 while data related to summer activity participation was collected from interviews with parents or guardians in the fall of 2011.
14 May 2018 | 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Event

From ESSA Plans to Implementation: A Look at Fifty State Plans and Opportunities to Advance Effective School Improvement

Are you still wondering what is in state ESSA plans? Or what might change in schools as a result? AIR and EducationCounsel met to discuss the trends across ESSA plans and what must come next to significantly improve outcomes for students among lowest-performing schools.
1 Apr 2018
Report

Study of Title I Schoolwide and Targeted Assistance Programs: Final Report

The schoolwide program and the targeted assistance program are two approaches related to the ideas established in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that focused on funding being provided to assist low-achieving students in high-poverty schools. This study compares services and resources provided by each approach and the ways these approaches go about allocating their resources.
Image of boy in shirt and tie in a classroom
9 Feb 2018
Video

The Black-White Achievement Gap: A Look at School Composition

The Black-White achievement gap has been studied extensively, but its relationship to school composition has generally not been examined. Sami Kitmitto discusses AIR’s research on the relationship between achievement gaps among Black and White students and the demographic makeup of schools.
26 Apr 2017
Brief

The Income Share Agreement Landscape: 2017 and Beyond

This final brief in a series about ISAs explores the current state of the income share agreement market and highlights opportunities and threats to expansion.
1 Mar 2017
Report

Postsecondary Education Expectations and Attainment of Rural and Nonrural Students

Prior research shows that rural students’ education expectations and aspirations, as well as their postsecondary enrollment and persistence rates, tend to be lower than those of nonrural students. This study aims to support policymakers and other stakeholders in the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Midwest states by informing policy recommendations for improving postsecondary attainment among rural students in the region.
1 Jan 2017
ESSA

ESSA │Access to Quality Educators

Every student deserves teachers and leaders who can help them achieve their potential. Yet research consistently shows that many students, particularly those from low-income families or rural backgrounds, those with special needs, English learners, and other disadvantaged subgroups, lack access to excellent educators. AIR has a strong reputation for supporting practitioners and stakeholders in education to develop and implement plans to improve equitable access to excellent educators.
1 Jan 2017
ESSA

ESSA │Low-Performing Schools

Efforts to improve conditions and outcomes in the lowest-performing schools and districts remain a high priority for policymakers and for AIR. While policy initiatives, targeted technical assistance, and research findings have yielded some success, students in these struggling schools deserve our perseverance. AIR researchers have conducted ground-breaking research and evaluation of state and federal education policies, including rigorous impact analyses and case studies that reveal contextual details of the school change process.
8 Nov 2016 | 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM
Event

Strengthening School Partnerships with Native Families and Communities (Webinar)

On November 8, 2016, join the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Southwest and Pacific for a free webinar on research-based resources to help educators strengthen Native family and community engagement in student learning.
Project

National Poverty Study

In the U.S. and many other countries, there’s a well-developed infrastructure for counting the number of people in poverty. The National Poverty Study seeks to move beyond that to answer questions regarding the changing conditions of poverty, how those conditions differ across places and “poverty types,” and how those in poverty respond to these differing conditions.
16 Sep 2016
Brief

How Loan-Averse Young Adults View Income Share Agreements

This brief, the fourth in a series about ISAs, addresses evidence that suggests loan aversion may be especially prevalent among underserved and underrepresented students. The brief concludes that ISAs could provide an alternative to student loans—in particular, for loan-averse individuals whose views of student debt are determined primarily by negative experiences with debt among family and friends, thereby removing one key barrier to college-going for this population.
14 Sep 2016
Brief

Equality and Quality in U.S. Education: Systemic Problems, Systemic Solutions

This paper enters the debate about how U.S. schools might address long-standing disparities in educational and economic opportunities while improving the educational outcomes for all students. The aim is to spark fruitful discussion among educators, policymakers, and researchers.
Female technical student at whiteboard
14 Sep 2016
Report

STEM 2026: A Vision for Innovation in STEM Education

A strong science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education is becoming increasingly recognized as a key driver of opportunity. In a series of discussion-based workshops, 30 experts and thought leaders were invited to exchange ideas and develop recommendations for the future of STEM education.
Project

Maximizing Student Agency: Implementing and Measuring Student-Centered Learning Practices

The purpose of this study was to identify the instructional practices that may be useful for the development of different aspects of student agency (i.e., self-efficacy, self-regulated learning, and persistence) and determine whether these instructional practices are equally helpful for different subgroups of students.
26 May 2016
Report

Ready to Lead: Designing Residencies for Better Principal Preparation

With so much attention focused on the importance of teachers, the significant role that principals play advancing instructional improvement, educational equity, and success for all students is frequently overlooked. Principal residency is one innovative approach to improving principal preparation that has shown promise for ensuring new principals are ready to lead.
Image of Peter Cookson
9 May 2016
Blog Post

Can We Stop Treating the NAEP as a Rorschach Test?

NAEP results are Rorschach Tests for policy wonks—a golden chance for free-association policy speculation. Small fluctuations in average scores on NAEP give rise to big explanations. Forget the quibbling over tiny differences in test scores; it’s time to rebuild schools on evidence-based, comprehensive policies that have been shown to work in the real world for all students. In this blog post, Peter Cookson says to fix inequities we need to get over our policy taste for quick fixes and silver bullets.
Image of Peter Cookson
25 Feb 2016
Blog Post

Making ESSA Work One Principal at a Time

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) puts each state in the driver’s seat for making its own K-12 policy. In this blog post, Peter Cookson discusses what this means for educational equity.
9 Jan 2016
Podcast

EdCast: Speaking of Equity #1 - A Better Education Workforce

In this podcast, Peter Cookson talks with Education Policy Center and Center on Great Teachers and Leaders Director Angela Minnici about the importance of providing all students with access to effective teachers and school leaders. The GTL Center is currently working closely with states to design and implement State Plans to Ensure Equitable Access, including identifying the root causes of inequitable access to effective educators in each state’s context.
3 Nov 2015 to 5 Nov 2015
| 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Event

Promoting Equitable Access at the State and Local Levels - Regional Institute

The Southeast Comprehensive Center and the Texas Comprehensive Center, hosted the regional institute, Promoting Equitable Access at the State and Local Levels, in Atlanta, Georgia, on November 3–5, 2015. Attendees convened with national experts and other professionals, examined issues related to equitable access, shared opportunities and challenges, and explored methods for improving equity at the state and local levels.
Project

Addressing Michigan’s Achievement Gap

The Michigan Department of Education and the Michigan State Board of Education are committed to closing academic achievement gaps in the state. Their initial focus is on rapidly improving academic outcomes for African-American young men, the persistently lowest achieving demographic subgroup in the state.
Image of Peter Cookson
1 Jul 2015
Blog Post

An Education Bill of Rights: Is Arne Duncan Onto Something?

In this blog post, Peter Cookson says it's time to address the idea of educational rights, asserting that the arc of justice needs to bend in the direction of a universal, free public school system where excellence is distributed not by zip code, skin color, or socio-economic status but as a right for all children.
12 Jun 2015
Blog Post

Want a Faster, Cheaper Way to Get a College Degree? Start in High School

On the traditional school path, Step 1 is graduating from high school, Step 2 is going to college, and Step 3 is earning a credential or degree; but overall, only about 59 percent of high school graduates who make it to Step 2 finish Step 3, earning a degree or credential within six years. In this blog post, AIR senior researcher Clarisse Haxton describes the Early College model, which allows students to combine Steps 1 and 2 and enroll in college courses and earn college credits while still in high school.
1 Jun 2015
Toolkit

Equitable Access Supports: Implementation Playbook and Equitable Access Toolkit

To help education leaders ensure that all students receive equitable access to excellent educators, the U.S. Department of Education has launched the Excellent Educators for All initiative, which requires each state, alongside stakeholders, to create and implement a State Plan to Ensure Equitable Access to Excellent Educators. To support states as they develop and implement these high-quality plans, the Center on Great Teachers and Leaders has created the Implementation Playbook and the Equitable Access Toolkit.
18 May 2015 | 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Event

Breakthroughs in Education and Social Mobility Research: Do You Need a Bachelor’s to Join the Middle Class?

Traditionally, the bachelor's degree has been seen as the doorway to the middle class for most Americans, but is this still the case? In an economic environment increasingly defined by new technologies and global market places--does it make sense to spend four years in college getting a liberal arts degree? Mark Schneider, Vice President and Institute Fellow at the American Institutes for Research, and Anthony Carnevale, Professor and Director of the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, will tackle these questions and more in a lively exchange.
Image of Peter Cookson
14 May 2015
Blog Post

Place Matters: So Do Schools and Teachers

If place heavily impacts social mobility, could strengthening schools be the key to overcoming the effects of growing up in a poor neighborhood? Peter Cookson, AIR principal researcher, explores this question in a blog post for the Education Policy Center.
18 Feb 2015 | 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Event

Breakthroughs in Education and Social Mobility Research: Richard Murnane

For low-income and minority students, education is the key to success and upward mobility. But evidence has shown in past decades that education has not been acting as the Great Equalizer. The Breakthroughs in Education and Social Mobility Research speaker series brings to light the most promising research illuminating the educational pathways to upward mobility. The series features some of the nation’s top scholars who are uncovering innovative and insightful evidence about what inhibits and enhances mobility.
30 Jan 2015
Longform Essay

Opening the Doors to Opportunity for All: Setting a Research Agenda for the Future

In 2014, the Equity Project at AIR hosted its first Research Roundtable. There, some of the nation’s top educational researchers drafted a research agenda addressing some of the long-term challenges facing American public schools educating students from low-income and minority families. Leaving micro-reforms to others, we asked tough questions that researchers could answer for those working to make public education as the gateway to opportunity for all.
5 Nov 2014 | 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Event

Breakthroughs in Education and Social Mobility Research: Isabel V. Sawhill

For low-income and minority students, education is the key to success and upward mobility. But evidence has shown in past decades that education has not been acting as the Great Equalizer. The Breakthroughs in Education and Social Mobility Research speaker series brings to light the most promising research illuminating the educational pathways to upward mobility. The series features some of the nation’s top scholars who are uncovering innovative and insightful evidence about what inhibits and enhances mobility.
Jane Coggshall
6 Oct 2014
Blog Post

Time to Reboot Educator Equity Plans

In this blog post, Jane Coggshall explains that inequitable access is not just the result of neglect or funding disparities, but the result of a series of systemic failures, from how we prepare teachers to work in high-need schools to how we design teachers’ jobs.
Project

STEM Interest and Engagement (STEM IE) Study

During middle school, many young people, especially those from low-income communities, disengage from and consequently do not achieve in school-based STEM subjects. The STEM Interest and Engagement Project (STEM IE) studied youth interest and engagement in summer STEM camps in four focus areas.
15 Sep 2014
Spotlight

Breakthroughs in Education and Social Mobility Research Speaker Series

For low-income and minority students, education is the key to success and upward mobility. But in the past several decades, evidence shows that education has not been acting as the Great Equalizer. The Breakthroughs in Education and Social Mobility Research speaker series is dedicated to bringing to light the most promising research illuminating the educational pathways to upward mobility. The series features some of the nation’s top scholars who are uncovering innovative and insightful evidence about what inhibits mobility and what enhances mobility.
10 Sep 2014
Report

Promoting Excellence for All: A Report from the State Superintendent’s Task Force on Wisconsin’s Achievement Gap

In 2014, the Midwest Comprehensive Center facilitated the meetings of a task force focused on closing achievement gaps in Wisconsin. The center worked in partnership with the Department of Public Instruction to help task force members identify relevant strategies used within their schools and districts. The work culminated in this report, which has served as a guidepost as the agency continues to tackle this issue.
Project

The Equity Project

Educational opportunity is a cherished part of the American story of upward mobility and social justice. The Equity Project at AIR is committed to building an inclusive and vibrant future through education.
15 Apr 2014
Video

Equity Project Research Roundtable

On April 30, 2014, AIR in Washington, D.C., hosted 28 top scholars in educational equity for the first Equity Research Roundtable.

30 Jan 2014
Blog Post

The Long War on Poverty Will Be Won With Vision and Grit

In his 1964 State of the Union Address, President Johnson launched the War on Poverty, beginning with these words: “I will be brief, for our time is necessarily short and our agenda is already long.” In this blog post, Peter Cookson argues that progress has been made, and that technology, a new spirit of commitment to greater equality, and deeper research have given us new tools with which to tackle poverty; we need only find the will and a way of working together for the greater good.
Project

Project Talent

377,000 students. 1,300 schools. In 1960, AIR launched Project Talent, the largest and most comprehensive study of high school students ever conducted in the United States. Now, as the original study participants move into retirement, Project Talent has become an important resource for understanding the aging process.