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New Reports Examine Education Equity and Opportunities

June 16, 2009—A new report was released on June 8, 2009 entitled "Equitable Resources in Low-Income Schools: Teacher Equity and The Federal Title I Comparability Requirement," by Lindsey Luebchow. The report, part of the Education Policy Program of the New America Foundation, argues that funding differences within a local school district between and among its schools can create disturbing inequities in resources just as inequalities in funding between and among local school districts can.

Key findings include:

1. "The primary cause of intra-district school finance disparities--given that teacher salaries account for the majority of school district expenses--is the inequitable distribution of teachers among schools."
2. "That is, the least experienced, least credentialed--and therefore, the lowest-paid--teachers are disproportionately represented in high-poverty, high-minority schools."
3. "Experienced teachers with advanced credentials, meanwhile, tend to gravitate to low poverty, low minority schools with what are considered to be more favorable teaching conditions."

The report makes clear that there is an urgency to address inequalities in teacher effectiveness, funding, and other sources across all schools for all students. The status quo will no longer do for the upcoming ESEA/NCLB reauthorization on the issue of inequities in high need schools.

On June 10, 2009, the Carnegie Corporation of New York--Institute for Advanced Study Commission on Mathematics and Science Education released a new report called "The Opportunity Equation: Transforming Mathematics and Science Education for Citizens and the Global Economy." The Commission conducted a national poll of 904 pairs of 8th to 10th grade students and their parents. What the survey discovered is that both parents and students give math and science subjects (algebra, data analysis, geometry, etc.) a higher priority than other subjects except English. They grasp that math and science are important for their futures, but neither parents nor students believe "it is important to do well in math or science unless the student intends to pursue a career directly related to math and science." All students, no matter what educational or career pathways they choose, need a foundation in math and science.

The report urges new common standards in math and science education that are fewer, clearer, and higher; improved school and system management, teaching, and professional learning; redesign of schools and systems to deliver "excellent equitable" math and science learning; and a national public awareness mobilization campaign on the link of math and science to the job market.

More Information

Report Highlights
Education Legislative Services

"Equitable Resources in Low Income Schools Teacher Equity and the Federal Title I Comparability Requirement"
New America Foundation

"The Opportunity Equation: Transforming Mathematics and Science Education for Citizenship and the Global Economy"
Carnegie Corporation of New York-Institute for Advanced Study Commission on Mathematics and Science Education

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