Schools must isolate patterns of inequity by disagreggating various formative assessment data by race, gender, or other characteristics. Such a lens often uncovers disparities in outcomes and can point to unconscious biases affecting how teacher respond to different student groups. Learn how to bring an equity focus into your school improvement…

The George Floyd incident caused severe anxiety in a lot of people, especially children and adults of color. These types of tragic incidents tend to happen to Black and Brown people more often than any other group. Experiencing or witnessing violent events like this can lead to trauma--and teachers must realize that the events of last year may…

Colorblind ideology--grounded in the belief that race is not a determinant factor for economic or academic outcomes in the U.S.--can thwart teachers' learning in PD focused on equity and anti-racist education. Colorblind ideology deflects conversation from race and suppresses a group's ability to address racial issues. Mayfield spells out how to…

The U.S. Supreme Court's "Brown v. Board" decision brought with it a myriad of unintended consequences. Perhaps most notably, it exposed black students to subpar assignments and deficit thinking. These inequities, in fact, persist today: In one TNTP study, classrooms of mostly white students were 1.5 times more likely to receive…

"There are no shortcuts for true equity," says authors and consultants Shane Safir and Jamila Dugan. Equity work is hard, on-going work--and it means not falling into ineffective traps and tropes. Find out what these traps are and how to avoid them.

Discussing school leadership in the absence of race is like building a house absent a foundation. While that house may stay upright for some time, it will be ill-prepared to withstand the strong winds of change. This is why Mark Gooden fervently recommends that every school principal, no matter their color or background, writes a racial…

A crucial site of bias in classrooms is class discussions. A new free web-based tool developed by university researchers can help teachers actively monitor how their biases are affecting students in real-time.

Disparate academic outcomes for Black boys persist. Educators should use an equity-centered lens when looking at this reality, asking not what's wrong with Black boys, but what's wrong with schools that they aren't serving these students better. Howard describes obstacles to black boys' school success and argues that educators need to listen to…

School leaders committed to bringing racial equity must ask why educators in schools who advocate fiercely for equity often feel isolated or face repercussions, while educators who are reluctant to make change for equity are rarely challenged. Gorski, who has decades of experience working for school-based equity, says most racial-equity efforts in…

Reflecting on his own experiences attending integrated schools in the 1960s and 70s, scholar Pedro Noguera argues that, despite the challenges involved, school integration remains essential for providing better educational opportunities for students. At a time when our nation is becoming irreversibly more diverse, Noguera writes, the country's…

Vitriol--and even violence--between U.S. citizens of different groups reaches another high mark this year. Racism is one of the strongest challenges of our time. But racism isn't insurmountable, U.S. institutions--with schools as ground zero--can lessen racism if they examine their own racist thinking and policies and, especially, encourage…

Because race, class, and gender bias have become firmly institutionalized, achieving equity will require more than eliminating individual prejudices. Educators can use dyads, support groups, and personal experience panels to ensure that people stay focused on their personal stories; respect one another; avoid blaming, criticizing, and analyzing;…

"The Bell Curve"'s racist overtones have caused a furor, but the book's real (equally controversial) thesis is intellectual segregation's economic and political consequences. The authors bemoan this elitist segregation, yet favor industry's use of IQ tests to select workers. By using IQ to measure a person's ultimate worth, they…