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Educational Equity

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The question of educational equity involves the gap in achievement between minority and nonminority students. RAND has conducted research into the effects of grouping students by ability, preschool participation, charter programs, and school funding on schools' abilities to provide equal education to students of varying socioeconomic, racial, and ethnic backgrounds.

Report

Urban and Rural Districts Show Strong Divide During the Pandemic

May 10, 2021

As of February 2021, only 17 percent of urban school districts—compared with 42 percent of rural districts—were offering fully in-person instruction. What are the implications of this disparity?
Report

Has COVID-19 Led to Divergent and Inequitable Pathways in Education?

May 27, 2021

Remote schooling is associated with fewer instructional opportunities and potentially poorer student outcomes compared with in-person schooling. Nevertheless, many schools will continue to offer a remote option after the pandemic has passed.

Explore Educational Equity

Commentary

Making Preschool Investments Count Through the American Families Plan

Under the Biden administration's proposed American Families Plan, the government would address disparities in preschool access by adding $200 billion to the public sector's investment in high-quality preschool for all three- and four-year-olds. How can we make sure that this historic investment, if approved by Congress, counts?

Jun 3, 2021
Blog

Reopening the U.S. Economy, Geoengineering, 5G: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on the potential effects of reopening the economy before the White House's vaccination goal is met, students' learning experiences during the pandemic, competition in the 5G era, and more.

May 28, 2021
Report

Are Income Share Agreements Fair?

Income share agreements provide access to postsecondary education for students who could not otherwise pay for school. Borrowers pay back a share of their salary when they get a well-paying job. But since ISAs are not regulated or standardized, they pose unique risks and have the potential for discrimination.

May 26, 2021
Blog

Pandemic Education, Working Mothers, Predicting Cyber Threats: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on the urban-rural divide in pandemic education, supporting working moms, what makes a good COVID-19 reopening plan, and more.

May 14, 2021
News Release

Rural School Districts Swifter to Return to In-Person Instruction Than Urban Districts

About 42% of rural school districts in the United States offered fully in-person instruction as of February, compared with only 17% for urban districts. The opposite pattern held for fully remote learning: 29% of urban districts offered fully remote instruction compared with 10% of rural districts and 18% of suburban districts.

May 11, 2021
Visualization

American School District Panel Winter 2021 COVID-19 Survey

A total of 434 district leaders from school districts and charter management organizations (CMOs) took the second survey of the American School District Panel between January 21 and March 5, 2021. This tool presents weighted survey results that are nationally representative of school districts in the United States.

May 10, 2021
Commentary

The American Rescue Plan Is a Chance to Support Students with Disabilities. Here Are Some Investments Worth Considering

National surveys of K–12 teachers provide insight into challenges for effectively educating students with disabilities during the pandemic and beyond. Understanding these challenges can help identify important funding options to address gaps.

May 5, 2021
Essay

The Power of Invention—and the Value of Diversity and Inclusion

Inventions benefit society and improve lives. Their economic impacts show the value of investing in more young people and their opportunities for learning. Policymakers could support programs that encourage more women, minorities, and people from lower-income families to become inventors.

May 4, 2021
Commentary

Commit Now to Get Summer Programming Right

When summer programs are targeted to needs, intentionally designed, and well attended, they produce positive outcomes in math and reading. But these programs need federal support, and they require early planning.

Apr 15, 2021
Report

Adapting Course Placement Processes in Response to COVID-19 Disruptions: Guidance for Schools and Districts

Because of the pandemic, spring 2020 end-of-year assessments were canceled and schools began the 2020-2021 year without assessment data. The authors compare three strategies to estimate missing test scores and help with course placement decisions.

Feb 16, 2021
Research Brief

Would Low-Income Students Graduate Faster with a Boost in Financial Aid? Results from a Natural Experiment in New Jersey

New Jersey's Tuition Aid Grant—the nation's most generous state-funded grant program per state resident college student—increased the rate of on-time bachelor's degree completion at public universities for low-income students who received it.

Feb 4, 2021
Report

Cutting the College Price TAG: The Effects of New Jersey's Tuition Aid Grant on College Persistence and Completion

RAND researchers studied more than 450,000 recipients of New Jersey's Tuition Aid Grant to explore whether larger amounts of grant aid led to higher graduation rates for students at varying income levels and types of institutions.

Feb 4, 2021
Journal Article

Inequality in Household Adaptation to Schooling Shocks: Covid-induced Online Learning Engagement in Real Time

Using internet searches, we study real-time demand for online learning resources. Internet searches for online learning resources doubled during the pandemic. Increases were larger in are as with higher income and better internet access. The pandemic will likely widen achievement gaps along these dimensions.

Feb 3, 2021
Report

Evaluation of Delaware's Opportunity Funding and Student Success Block Grant Programs: Early Implementation

The authors examine the 2019-2020 implementation of two newly expanded Delaware weighted education funding programs, the Opportunity Fund and Student Success Block Grant, and emerging best practices, as reported by local education agency leaders.

Jan 21, 2021
Periodical

RAND Review: January-February 2021

The cover story on the ’Internet of Bodies’ highlights the perils of devices that track personal health data and provide medical treatment. Other columns explore vaccine hesitancy, the high price of insulin in the U.S., and social justice in America.

Jan 6, 2021
Commentary

COVID-19's Long-Term Effects on Students

The pandemic has created an unprecedented set of obstacles for schools and exacerbated existing structural inequalities in public education. It may take years to understand how COVID-19 affected student learning and social and emotional development and to identify any lasting effects on low-income communities and communities of color.

Dec 29, 2020
Commentary

Teleworking During the COVID-19 Pandemic Highlights Educational Inequity

The ability to telework is associated with both reduced risk of COVID-19 infection and with significantly lower risk of job loss. There are large disparities in who is able to telework by race and ethnicity—but even larger ones by educational attainment.

Dec 23, 2020
Blog

The Most Popular RAND Research of 2020

Here are the RAND research projects that resonated most in 2020, a year unlike any in living memory. Topics include remote learning, election disinformation, income inequality, and more.

Dec 21, 2020

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RAND Topic:
Educational Equity

Research conducted by

RAND Education and Labor