Although most people in the United States believe, at least theoretically, in educational equality, fewer and fewer appear to care about the resource gaps between affluent and poor schools, says Weissbourd. He illustrates these gaps with vivid descriptions of what he calls an "opulence arms race" among affluent independent schools, but…

For the last decade, Steven Farr and his colleagues at Teach For America (TFA) have studied the most highly effective TFA teachers--those whose students make remarkable academic progress. In this article, Farr describes the qualities that distinguish these great teachers from less effective TFA teachers. They have identified six leadership…

Ending educational inequality requires not only an army of teachers who do whatever it takes to overcome the challenges facing children in low-income communities but also an army of leaders, working both in and outside school, who will change our inequitable system. Teach for America's mission is to help build this force. The organization's…

Sorting students into different tracks within a school correlates strongly with student race and economic status and predicts and contributes to student outcomes. Students in higher-level classes typically experience better teachers, curriculum, and achievement levels than peers in lower-level classes. Creating classrooms that support equity of…

This article presents several publications that can help educators hone their skills in using data effectively. These publications point out key measures of school quality, support professional development in data use, suggest action steps for building better data systems, and tackle data and equity issues. These publications include: (1) Good…

When it comes to maximizing learning opportunities and outcomes for students from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds, race and ethnicity matter: They affect how students respond to instruction and curriculum, and they influence teachers' assumptions about how students learn. Effective implementation of race- and ethnicity-responsive…

School segregation in the United States is on the rise. Educational Leadership asked four noted educators who are passionate advocates for educational equity--Jonathan Kozol, Beverly Daniel Tatum, Susan Eaton, and Patricia Gandara--to discuss what should be done to tackle this serious problem. Their comments cover such topics as targeting federal…

Broadening computer science learning to include more students is a crucial item on the United States' education agenda, these authors say. Although policymakers advocate more computer science expertise, computer science offerings in high schools are few--and actually shrinking. In addition, poorly resourced schools with a high percentage of…

Lilla G. Frederick Middle School in the Dorchester area of Boston doesn't just train neighborhood parents how to use technology--it offers families who complete the training a new laptop practically free (for $50.00). What's more, students and parents participate in training sessions at the school together, with students often acting as teachers.…

Two innovative programs in Belgium promote both educational equity and quality as they reach out to ethnically diverse families. The Bridge Person project in Ghent addresses Belgium's immigrant achievement gap by creating meaningful relationships between schools and socially disadvantaged families. The School in Sight project in Antwerp seeks to…

The author, director of the University of Chicago School Mathematics Project, tackles the following question: Should the United States have national standards with teeth, that is, a single set of standards tied to assessments and agreed to by the states? Proponents advance five main arguments for implementing such a standard. In his rebuttal, the…

From the nefarious achievement gaps, to the racial isolation in increasingly segregated schools; from the digital divide that results in kids not having access to computers, to the poverty gulf that results in kids not having homes; from boys' reading difficulties and girls' problems with math, to the disparities among rural, suburban, and urban…

Commemorates Martin Luther King, Jr. on the first celebration of the national holiday and proposes teaching the ideals that Dr. King advocated. (MD)

Argues that multicultural education practices in most schools today have not adequately addressed the larger issues of social justice and equal access to educational resources. Discusses four profoundly multicultural questions educators must address: Who's taking calculus? Which classes meet in the basement? Who's teaching the children? How much…

When parents and staff at Winter Park Elementary School in Wilmington, North Carolina, realized that some children could not afford school activities, such as purchasing ice cream on Fridays, they decided to level the economic playing field. The school began eliminating all practices that required students to spend money to participate. Students…