Solving Disproportionality and Achieving Equity
A Leader's Guide to Using Data to Change Hearts and Minds
School Change & Reform
When the numbers don’t lie, this is your guide to doing what’s right
According to federal data, African American students are more than three times as likely as their white peers to be suspended or expelled. As a school leader, what do you do when your heart is in the right place, but your data show otherwise?
In Solving Disproportionality and Achieving Equity, Edward Fergus takes us on a journey into disproportionality by engaging our hearts and minds on the presence of biases that create barriers to the success of students of color. If your school is faced with a disproportionate rate of suspensions, gifted program enrollment, or special education referrals for students of color, this book shows how you can uncover the root causes and rally your staff to face the challenge head on. You will:
- Understand through compelling vignettes and case studies how bias affects policies and practices even in good schools
- Know what questions to ask and what data to analyze to get to the root cause
- Create your own road map for becoming an equity-driven school, with staff activities, data collection forms, checklists, and progress monitoring tools
If you are interested in developing a deep understanding of the policy, practice, and beliefs necessary for schools to address disproportionality and achieve equity, this book delivers all that and more.
"Through careful analysis of data obtained from real cases, Edward Fergus shows how disproportionality is manifest and how it can be thoughtfully addressed. For educators and policy makers seeking solutions to these complex issues, this book will be an invaluable resource."
—Pedro Noguera, Distinguished Professor of Education
UCLA, Graduate Schools of Education and Information Studies
"Throughout the country, a growing number of educators have come to the realization that disproportionality in the placement of children of color in special education, and in school discipline practices, is a vital equity issue that must be confronted. In this important new book, Dr. Edward Fergus explains why this issue is so important and he shows what educators can do to solve the problem. Through careful analysis of data obtained from real cases, he shows how the problem is manifest and how it can be thoughtfully addressed. For educators and policy makers seeking solutions to these complex issues, this book will be an invaluable resource."
"Solving Disproportionality and Achieving Equity addresses burning and significant needs and issues in the field, including areas in which districts are facing legal requirements for action. The synthesis of research, theory, application, with an acknowledgment of the interpersonal and emotional dimensions of this work all contribute to its value."
"I believe that this text has the potential to become a bible for every school leader who truly wants to examine the inequities in schools and then move forward with a comprehensive plan applying a sound analysis of the data."