Equity, Inclusion, and Opportunity: Creating Educational Systems That Meet the Needs of All Groups of Students

The Success Gaps Toolkit presents a process for using data and the Success Gap Rubric to identify root causes of gaps between groups of children in districts or schools. These success gaps occur when the education system is not meeting the needs of all groups of children and outcomes for some groups are different than outcomes for most groups. The toolkit, with its process and materials, provides a manageable and defined way for districts or schools to identify success gaps that are present and their root causes and then make a plan for addressing the gaps. The success gaps may be the graduation rate of students who are English learners compared to the rate of all other children, the out-of-school suspension rate of children who are Black compared to the rate of all other children, the identification of children who are Hispanic as children with specific learning disabilities compared to the identification of all other children, and other gaps.

This white paper focuses on elements of equity, inclusion, and opportunity that can minimize or eliminate success gaps among different groups of students. It provides the research-based background that guided development of a complementary rubric that schools or districts can use to systematically examine the root causes of success gaps among groups of their students. The white paper has been updated recently and now includes considerations for children as young as preschool.

This rubric allows a team of users from a district or school to systematically examine the root causes of success gaps among groups of students by focusing on equity, inclusion, and opportunity. The recently updated rubric now includes considerations for children as young as preschool age. A complementary white paper provided the research-based background that supported development of the rubric.

This presentation introduced the audience of local education agency personnel to new tools, the Equity, Inclusion, and Opportunity: How to Address Success Gaps Rubric and the Equity, Inclusion and Opportunity: How to Address Success Gaps White Paper. The rubric and white paper were developed by a group of OSEP-funded technical assistance providers, with input from states and other experts. The Equity, Inclusion, and Opportunity: How to Address Success Gaps tools provide a process for reducing the differences in school success among subgroups of students by providing a structure for districts or schools to examine their current practices and identify areas for improvement.

The presentation introduces a research-based guidance document and self-assessment rubric designed to help districts and schools identify the root causes of "success gaps" (for example, in test scores, suspension or graduation rates, or course credits) for some groups of students, thereby helping schools to improve and equalize results for all students.

In this webinar, which IDC staff presented for the University of Tennessee’s Boling Center for Developmental Disabilities, we first discuss the requirements in the IDEA related to disproportionality, describe methods for calculating disproportionality, and present data, both at the national level and for the state of Tennessee. The second part of the webinar introduces a research-based guidance document and self-assessment rubric designed to help schools and districts identify the root causes of "success gaps."

In this webinar, which IDC staff presented for the University of Tennessee’s Boling Center for Developmental Disabilities, we first discuss the requirements in the IDEA related to disproportionality, describe methods for calculating disproportionality, and present data, both at the national level and for the state of Tennessee. The second part of the webinar introduces a research-based guidance document and self-assessment rubric designed to help schools and districts identify the root causes of "success gaps."