Equity
It remains a critical challenge to ensure all children—regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, socio-economic status, and/or ability—have access to a high-quality education. We are at a pivotal time where communities and schools are navigating issues of equity, poverty, and opportunity gaps against a backdrop of shifting education policy. With access to exceptional data and a multi-disciplinary team of researchers and research partners, we are able to provide unique insight into these important issues.
The development of racial/ethnic and socioeconomic achievement gaps during the school years
This study examined developmental trends in academic achievement gaps between poverty and race/ethnicity groups from school entry to middle school using two large longitudinal data sets. We used time-varying effect modeling (TVEM) to estimate how the associations among race/ethnicity, poverty status, and math and reading achievement vary across continuous age from age 5 to age 15.
Topics: Equity, Growth modeling
This study examines whether test effort differs by student subgroup, including by race and gender. The sensitivity of achievement gap estimates to any differences in test effort is also considered.
Topics: Equity, School & test engagement
Achievement gaps are a metric of fundamental importance to U.S. practice and policy. Gap estimates are often used to measure the effectiveness and fairness of the education system at a given point in time, over the course of decades, and as children progress through school.
Topics: Equity, School & test engagement, Student growth & accountability policies
Evaluating the relationships between poverty and school performance
This study examined the relationships between poverty and a school’s academic performance (both student achievement and growth). Educators, advocates, and policymakers can use these data to shape how people look at the performance of schools in their communities and to inform education policy (e.g., the effect of evaluating schools based on achievement vs. growth).
Topics: Equity, High-growth schools & practices
Making digital content accessible for all
On this Education Talk Radio Pre K – 20 radio show, host Larry Jacobs talks with NWEA’s Elizabeth Barker and Brian Tosky about universal design for learning and more.
Making digital content accessible for all. Education Talk Radio Pre K-20
Topics: Equity, Accessibility
Summer learning gaps worsen in higher grades, just not the way you think
Megan Kuhfeld shares surprising early findings from her work exploring patterns in students’ summer learning loss.
Education Week
Summer learning loss: What we know and what we’re learning
In this blog, Megan Kuhfeld shares background on what we know about summer learning loss, and the significant gaps that remain in our understanding that drive her work to take a fresh – and deeper – look at the phenomenon.
