Building a better data culture can be the path to better results and greater equity in schools. But what do we mean by data? Your students are not just statistics. They aren't simply a set of numbers or faceless dots on a proficiency scale. They are vibrant collections of experiences, thoughts, perspectives, emotions, wants, and dreams. And taken…

While there are many different types of education data, policymakers and education leaders often place heavy emphasis on data from large-scale quantitative measures, such as annual state assessments. But data from these sources alone do not provide a complete picture of learning and are often not well suited to informing improvements at the local…

Education can be transformed if we eradicate our fixation on big data like standardized test scores as the supreme measure of equity and learning. Instead of the focus being on "fixing" and "filling" academic gaps, we must envision and rebuild the system from the "student" up--with classrooms, schools and systems…

In this third edition of "Data Wise," Kathryn Parker Boudett and Candice Bocala update the research-based eight-step collaborative inquiry process and demonstrate how it can be used to build more equitable schools. As Boudett and Bocala define it, equity occurs when each student has access to rigorous learning opportunities and is…

Family-school collaboration has proven benefits for students' social, emotional, behavioral, and academic functioning, yet many schools struggle to create and sustain effective partnerships with families. This timely resource provides an equity-focused, culturally responsive framework for embedding family collaboration within multi-tiered systems…

In "Equity Learning Communities," Daniel Reinholz recommends sustained, collaborative professional development group meetings as a launchpad for higher education instructors to enhance classroom equity and inclusivity. In Reinholz's approach, community members make use of debrief sessions, collaborative problem solving, and empirical…

The first step to addressing equity gaps is to identify them. How can community colleges determine, with some degree of certainty, whether one or more student groups on a campus is in need of assistance in order to succeed? This paper tackles this question by delving into the three methods typically used to identify equity gaps, comparing and…

The National Technical Assistance Center on Transition: the Collaborative (NTACT:C) Collaborative Assessment Guide for Transition Planning (CAG) is intended to help students, family members, educators, vocational rehabilitation counselors, human services and health agency staff, and other partners develop a coordinated assessment approach for…

This "Equity Tool" illustrates research on the effects homophobia and transphobia have on the mental health of LGBTQ+ students, as well as strategies and resources teachers and administrators can use to address this issue. This tool includes three infographics to help the audience understand this information, and share it with others, in…

This volume brings together experts on various aspects of education to address many of the emerging issues and problems that affect how data are being used or misused in educational contexts. Readers will learn about the importance of using data effectively, responsibly, and ethically to fully understand how cognitive fallacies occur and how they…

The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children across the United States. The focus of this issue is "Policy Priorities." Contents include: (1) IDRA Kicks Off 50th Anniversary…

Containing all of the practical tools needed to put theory into practice, "STEM for All" by Leena Bakshi McLean provides a roadmap for teachers, instructional coaches, and leaders to better understand the challenges that create low engagement and scores in STEM subjects and implement exciting and culturally relevant teaching plans. This…

The "IDRA Newsletter" serves as a vehicle for communication with educators, school board members, decision-makers, parents, and the general public concerning the educational needs of all children across the United States. The focus of this issue is "Fair Discipline." Contents include: (1) At What Cost? A Review of School Police…

A substantial achievement gap, with culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students falling behind native-English-speaking White peers, has been widely documented in research as well as government reports. However, a corresponding discipline gap has not been evident due to the various labels and methods used for identifying specifically…

Using data is foundational to school leadership; however, when "data" are narrowly construed as academic outcomes, important data perceived as tangential to academics can be backgrounded, ignored, or unused. Today's school leaders must also attend to data around chronic absenteeism, discipline, learning climate, and social, emotional,…