7 Questions to Ask About Equity in Education
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- How many kindergartners in my district/state attended high-quality early-childhood education programs? How does my district/state measure kindergarten readiness and how do the results vary among different demographic groups?
- What does the funding look like for schools in my area serving low-income and minority students? How does that compare to affluent and/or predominately white schools? How do individual schools compare to the district average? (This EWA blog post may be helpful.)
- How much does my school district pay its teachers and how has that changed over time? What is the demographic makeup of students who have access to high-quality teachers?
- How does the demographic composition of my locale’s special education programs compare with that of the general student population? What does that comparison look like for traditional public schools versus their charter/private counterparts?
- How do parents in my area influence equity in education?
- What are the admissions requirements for the college I’m covering and how might those requirements put certain students at a disadvantage?
- How well are the colleges you cover serving low-income students? What percentage of students receive Pell Grants and are they graduating at the same rates as their peers?
