Opportunity/Achievement Gap

Read about academic performance differences due to factors affecting students’ options like poverty, racism, and uneven opportunities
Illustration of people climbing stacks of books. There are 3 stacks of books at different heights with people helping people climb up.
iStock/Getty
Student Achievement To Settle a Lawsuit, California Will Shift $2 Billion to Students Hurt by Pandemic Shutdowns
The settlement in the class-action lawsuit presses districts to provide evidence-based support to help students get back on track.
Sarah D. Sparks, February 1, 2024
•
7 min read
Teenage student taking notes during class
E+
Mathematics What the Research Says How Schools Can Diversify Math Course-Taking
Low-income students and students of color take fewer advanced-math courses—or start taking them later—than their white peers.
Sarah D. Sparks, December 7, 2023
•
4 min read
In this Aug. 13, 2014, file photo, a student prepares to leave the Enterprise Attendance Center school southeast of Brookhaven Miss. The federal government has decided to delay changing the way it determines funding for rural education after a bipartisan group of lawmakers said the move would hurt hundreds of schools.
A student prepares to leave the Enterprise Attendance Center school southeast of Brookhaven, Miss., on Aug. 13, 2014.
Rogelio V. Solis/AP/AP
School & District Management The State of Rural Schools, in Charts: Funding, Graduation Rates, Performance, and More
Rural schools receive less funding on average from states, but they still deal with the mental health and academic crises facing all schools.
Libby Stanford, November 20, 2023
•
5 min read
Students head to the cafeteria for lunch at Sandy Valley School in Sandy Valley, Nev., on March 30, 2022. The school is one of only a handful in the mostly urban Clark County School District to meet just four days a week.
Students head to the cafeteria for lunch at Sandy Valley School in Sandy Valley, Nev., on March 30, 2022.
Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun via AP
School & District Management Report Outlines the Distinct Challenges Facing Rural Schools
They enroll more students than the 100 largest districts combined, but rural schools have higher operating costs and lower teacher pay.
Libby Stanford, November 16, 2023
•
6 min read
Tanya Holyfield, a second grade teacher with Manchester Academic Charter School, teaches remote students from her classroom on March 4, 2021, in Pittsburgh.
Tanya Holyfield, a 2nd grade teacher at Manchester Academic Charter School, teaches remote students from her classroom on March 4, 2021, in Pittsburgh. New federal data from the 2020-21 school year show that longstanding inequities among groups of students did not change much even in a year when many students spent all or part of the year in remote and hybrid learning.
Andrew Rus/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP
Equity & Diversity What the Research Says New National Data Show Depth of Disparities in a Chaotic Year of Schooling
The first federal civil rights data released since the pandemic show that inequities persisted even when school buildings shut down.
Eesha Pendharkar & Sarah D. Sparks, November 15, 2023
•
10 min read
Photograph of diverse group of primary school students using laptops in a bright classroom.
E+/Getty
Curriculum Computer Science Courses Are on the Rise—But Girls Are Still Half as Likely to Take It
Schools expanded the availability of foundational computer science classes, but stubborn gaps in access to those courses persist.
Alyson Klein, November 1, 2023
•
4 min read
Photo of calculus equations.
iStock / Getty Images Plus
Mathematics Why Calculus Remains a Math Flash Point
Debates center on whether all kids should take it or just those who want to major in STEM—and its odd place in college admissions.
Sarah Schwartz, October 30, 2023
•
4 min read
Illustration of pointing hands and sad computer.
F. Sheehan for Education Week / Getty
Ed-Tech Policy Opinion Stop Blaming Ed Tech for Our Current Education Inequality
Technology didn't create student disengagement nor is it responsible for lengthy school closures, writes an industry leader.
Sari Factor, October 19, 2023
•
4 min read
Conceptual "achievement" Gap illustration of a large silhouette of a white child with a smaller silhouette of a black child contained inside. In the background are faded newspaper pages and data bar charts and line graphs.
Vanessa Solis/Education Week + iStock/Getty Images
Equity & Diversity Opinion Stop Talking About ‘Gaps’ in Education—Talk About Harm
The frequently used term obscures the racism operating behind it, writes Bettina L. Love.
Bettina L. Love, August 18, 2023
•
3 min read
Teacher Silvia Castillo, center, reads a book about dinosaurs with Everett Fisher, left, and Jaz Endicott in a toddler classroom at Kids First on Jan. 30, 2019 in Lincoln, Neb.
Teacher Silvia Castillo, center, reads a book about dinosaurs with Everett Fisher, left, and Jaz Endicott in a toddler classroom at Kids First on Jan. 30, 2019, in Lincoln, Neb.
Gwyneth Roberts/Lincoln Journal Star via AP
Early Childhood What the Research Says Starting School in Infancy Can Help Low-Income Children Keep Up With Peers in Elementary School
Research on a birth-to-4 initiative in Tulsa finds academic gains through 3rd grade.
Sarah D. Sparks, August 10, 2023
•
4 min read
Education Week opinion letters submissions
Gwen Keraval for Education Week
Science Opinion Let’s Mobilize Our Youth to Address the STEM Achievement Gap
Youth can play a role in addressing the STEM achievement gap, too, writes a high school student in this letter to the editor.
January 31, 2023
•
1 min read
Photo of two boys handling model of atom.
E+ / Getty
Science Racial Disparities in STEM Start as Early as Kindergarten, New Study Finds
Socioeconomic factors and school environment explain some of the disparities, but not all of them.
Sarah Schwartz, January 19, 2023
•
3 min read
Thu., January 19, 2023, 2:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. ET
Equity & Diversity K-12 Essentials Forum Education Equity: Where We Go From Here
Join us for this event with educators and experts on the current state of equity and what comes next.
Register
January 19, 2023
v42 16 sr equity cover intro 112322
Illustration by Chris Whetzel for Education Week
Equity & Diversity Schools Trying to Prioritize Equity Have Their Work Cut Out for Them, Survey Shows
The pandemic exacerbated pre-existing inequities in education. Practitioners and researchers offer advice on how to move forward.
Ileana Najarro, November 28, 2022
•
5 min read
Load More ▼