Equity

Education news, analysis, and opinion about the fair distribution of opportunities for all students
Education Week opinion letters submissions
Gwen Keraval for Education Week
Assessment Letter to the Editor It’s Time to Think About What Grades Really Mean
"Traditional grading often masks what a learner actually knows or is able to do."
November 26, 2025
1 min read
A young  student of color struggles to carry a large heavy backpack conceptual
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
Special Education A Small Change in Special Ed. Rules Could Affect Equity, Accountability, Advocates Warn
The paperwork change could make it harder to track equity in special education, advocates said.
Evie Blad, November 5, 2025
5 min read
A hand tips the scales. Concept of equitable grading.
DigitalVision Vectors + Education Week
Assessment Opinion We Urgently Need Grading Reform. These 3 Things Stand in the Way
Here’s what fuels the pushback against standards-based grading—and how to overcome it.
Joe Feldman, November 5, 2025
5 min read
Conceptual illustration of classroom conversations and fragmented education elements coming together to form a cohesive picture of a book of classroom knowledge.
Sonia Pulido for Education Week
Equity & Diversity Opinion Schools Cannot Afford to Ignore Race and Identity
People often don't notice discrimination if it doesn't affect them directly.
Larry Ferlazzo, October 13, 2025
13 min read
Conceptual illustration of classroom conversations and fragmented education elements coming together to form a cohesive picture of a book of classroom knowledge.
Sonia Pulido for Education Week
Equity & Diversity Opinion In Today's Political Climate, Teachers Must Center Empathy
Kwame Sarfo-Mensah offers guidance on how teachers can model courage and leadership for students.
Larry Ferlazzo, October 8, 2025
9 min read
Education Week opinion letters submissions
Gwen Keraval for Education Week
Equity & Diversity Letter to the Editor Let DEI Thrive: How Agency and Belonging Flourish in Identity Safe Spaces
We can’t afford to let go of diversity, equity, and inclusion, writes an author and educator.
September 26, 2025
1 min read
A teacher helps two engineering students build a butterfly house.
The Trump administration has sued the Rhode Island Department of Education and the public school district in Providence, saying a program that provides loan forgiveness to teachers of color discriminates against white teachers.
Allison Shelley for All4Ed
Equity & Diversity Loan Forgiveness for Teachers of Color Is Discriminatory, Trump Admin. Says
The U.S. Department of Justice says the program meant to boost the ranks of minority teachers discriminates against white educators.
Alyson Klein, September 16, 2025
3 min read
Rear view of mixed race teen schoolgirl using a laptop while having online video lesson with teacher, sitting at home.
iStock/Getty
Student Achievement High-Dosage Tutoring for 100K Kids: How a District Settled a Learning Loss Case
The nation's second-largest district agreed to tutoring and other measures to settle a case brought by parents during the pandemic.
Evie Blad, September 12, 2025
4 min read
Vector illustration of two hands pulling apart money and it tears in unequal parts.
iStock/Getty
Education Funding How Efforts to Fund Schools More Equitably Actually Worsened Racial Inequality
Researchers examined three decades of school finance reforms in 40 states.
Evie Blad, September 11, 2025
2 min read
Pencil sketch with graduation hat bridging the gap between wooden blocks for miniature student to cross.
Getty Images + Education Week
Equity & Diversity Opinion Schools Alone Can't Be the Great Equalizer. So What Now?
When I started as a school leader, I thought focusing on factors external to school was just “making excuses.” Not anymore.
Ornella Parker, September 5, 2025
5 min read
Education Week opinion letters submissions
Gwen Keraval for Education Week
Federal Letter to the Editor Why Publish Arguments Hostile to Public Education?
A reader pushes back against recent essays published in Education Week Opinion in this letter to the editor.
August 29, 2025
1 min read
A classroom is seen at Woodmore Elementary @ Meadowbrook on August 15, 2025 in Bowie, Maryland. In a so-called ‘swing move,’ Woodmore Elementary has relocated to Meadowbrook Elementary school until Summer 2027.
A classroom is seen at Woodmore Elementary @ Meadowbrook on August 15, 2025 in Bowie, Md. A new survey shows most teachers have begun to use some elements of what's known as equitable grading.
Pete Kiehart for Education Week
Assessment Here's What Teachers Really Think About Equitable Grading Policies
A new study examines the prevalence of policies like no zeroes or unlimited retakes in classrooms.
Elizabeth Heubeck, August 20, 2025
4 min read
Vector illustration of a large hand holding a contract and a smaller man with a large pen signing the contract while a woman in the background is clutching a gold coin and watching as he signs.
DigitalVision Vectors/Getty
Law & Courts Trump Can't Require Schools to Certify They Won't Use DEI, Judge Says
A federal judge appointed by Trump struck down several efforts made by the U.S. Department of Education to curb educators’ use of DEI.
Brooke Schultz, August 15, 2025
4 min read
A student bikes to Miner Elementary School, a public school located between the Capitol Hill and Rosedale communities of Washington, D.C., on June 12, 2025.
A student bikes to Miner Elementary School, a public school located between the Capitol Hill and Rosedale communities of Washington, D.C., on June 12, 2025.
Charlotte Kesl for Education Week
School & District Management A School Pairing Plan Promised Equity, and Stirred Backlash
D.C.'s effort to pair two schools with divergent demographics backfired, dividing the community.
Alyson Klein, July 25, 2025
16 min read