National Academies Press: OpenBook

Building Educational Equity Indicator Systems: A Guidebook for States and School Districts (2020)

Chapter: DEVELOPING A SYSTEM OF EQUITY INDICATORS: WHAT STATES, DISTRICTS, AND THEIR PARTNERS CAN DO

« Previous: INDICATORS OF EQUITY RELATED TO EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT
Suggested Citation:"DEVELOPING A SYSTEM OF EQUITY INDICATORS: WHAT STATES, DISTRICTS, AND THEIR PARTNERS CAN DO." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. Building Educational Equity Indicator Systems: A Guidebook for States and School Districts. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25833.
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DEVELOPING A SYSTEM OF EQUITY INDICATORS:
WHAT STATES, DISTRICTS, AND THEIR PARTNERS CAN DO

For more detail and supporting research:

See pages 119-128 of Monitoring Educational Equity

So far, this guidebook has focused on each of the indicators of educational equity individually, to provide states and districts with a sense of how to begin approaching data collection. But no single indicator by itself can tell the full story of educational equity. Instead, all the indicators need to be considered together as a set that are collected and reported on a regular, sustained basis to provide a detailed and nuanced picture for policy makers, policy implementers, educators, educational leaders, and the public.

Such systems of indicators will necessarily be developed gradually, making use of existing data first until a fuller system is developed. States and school districts are in the best position to undertake demonstration projects and early prototypes of an indicator system, either on their own or in collaboration with other educational jurisdictions and organizations such as the Council of Great City Schools, the Council of Chief State School Officers, the National Governor’s Association, the Education Trust, and similar organizations.

As a first step toward developing systems of educational equity indicators that can inform a national-level system, states, school districts, and their partners can incorporate the indicators of educational equity into their relevant data collection and reporting activities, strategic priorities, and plans to meet the equity aspects of ESSA.

As shown above, states and districts already are collecting data related to several of the indicators or could collect the data relatively easily. Other indicators will require additional work before they can be implemented. As an example, while many school systems evaluate readiness for kindergarten, the assessments they use differ in terms of the skills measured, the methods by which they are measured, the timing of the assessments, and thresholds for defining readiness. Still other indicators will require more effort to identify common definitions, data

Suggested Citation:"DEVELOPING A SYSTEM OF EQUITY INDICATORS: WHAT STATES, DISTRICTS, AND THEIR PARTNERS CAN DO." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. Building Educational Equity Indicator Systems: A Guidebook for States and School Districts. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25833.
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sources, and data collection instruments that capture the full meaning of the indicator (see Summary Table in the Introduction).

To tackle the less well-developed indicators, states, districts, and their partners can seek public and private funding to support detailed design and implementation work for a comprehensive set of equity indicators, including an operational prototype and for consensus-building across jurisdictions.

This work could involve several self-selected “early adopter” states and districts; education policy, research, and advocacy organizations; stakeholder representatives; and academic researchers. The work could focus on cataloguing the available data sources, determining areas of overlap and gaps, and seeking consensus on appropriate paths forward toward expanding the indicator system to a broader set of states and districts.

Monitoring Educational Equity also notes the important role that other child-serving agencies play in helping children. Research and consensus building are needed to create indicators and measures of integrated services that should eventually be included in a broader equity indicator system.

As a start toward this longer-term work, states, school districts, and their partners can explore the development of indicators related to integrated services that address context-related impediments to student success, such as trauma and chronic stress created by adversity.

Taking these actions will keep public attention on a critical goal for the nation: to ensure that all students receive the supports they need to obtain a high-quality education from pre-K through grade 12. Educating all students is central to the nation’s ability to grow, develop, and provide its citizens the opportunity to live full and rewarding lives.


Suggested Citation:"DEVELOPING A SYSTEM OF EQUITY INDICATORS: WHAT STATES, DISTRICTS, AND THEIR PARTNERS CAN DO." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. Building Educational Equity Indicator Systems: A Guidebook for States and School Districts. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25833.
×
Page 33
Suggested Citation:"DEVELOPING A SYSTEM OF EQUITY INDICATORS: WHAT STATES, DISTRICTS, AND THEIR PARTNERS CAN DO." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020. Building Educational Equity Indicator Systems: A Guidebook for States and School Districts. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/25833.
×
Page 34
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How can states and schools use data to support their efforts to improve educational equity? Building Educational Equity Indicator Systems: A Guidebook for States and School Districts, provides information to help state and school district leaders develop ways of tracking educational equity within their preK – 12 systems.

The guidebook expands on the indicators of educational equity identified in the 2019 National Academies report, Monitoring Educational Equity, showing education leaders how they can measure educational equity within their states and school districts. Some of the indicators focus on student outcomes, such as kindergarten readiness or educational attainment, while others focus on student access to opportunities and resources, such as effective instruction and rigorous curriculum. Together, the indicators provide a robust picture of the outcomes and opportunities that are central to educational equity from preK through grade 12.

For each indicator of educational equity identified in the report, the guidebook describes what leaders should measure and what data to use, provides examples of data collection instruments, and offers considerations and challenges to keep in mind. The guidebook is meant to help education leaders catalogue data they already collect and identify new data sources to help them fill gaps.

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