Title: 
Headings: 
INTRODUCTION

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INTRODUCTION
School
 
and
 
district
 
leaders
 
grapple
 
with
 

 
daunting
 
challenge—they
 
must
 
reform
 
policies
 
and
 
practices
 
that
 
currently
 
contribute
 
to
 
opportunity
 
and
 
achievement
 
gaps. Despite
 
district
 
and
 
school
 
leaders’
 
best
 
efforts,
 
students
 
of
 
color,
 
low-income
 
students,
 
English
 
learners,
 
students
 
with
 
disabilities,
 
and
 
those
 
who
 
are
 
homeless
 
or
 
in
 
foster
 
care
 
are
 
more
 
likely
 
to
 
fail
 
math
 
and
 
reading
 
and
 
are
 
less
 
likely
 
to
 
graduate. In
 
order
 
to
 
resolve
 
the
 
achievement
 
gap,
 
historical
 
practices
 
that
 
focus
 
on
 
educational
 
equality,
 
treating
 
all
 
students
 
the
 
same,
 
must
 
be
 
replaced
 
with
 
efforts
 
that
 
advance
 
educational
 
equity,
 
ensuring
 
all
 
students
 
have
 
the
 
resources
 
they
 
need
 
so
 
they
 
graduate
 
prepared
 
for
 
success
 
after
 
high
 
school. The
 
recent
 
reauthorization
 
of
 
the
 
Every
 
Student
 
Succeeds
 
Act
 
(ESSA)
 
gives
 
greater
 
responsibility
 
to
 
states
 
and
 
districts
 
to
 
advance
 
equity
 
at
 
the
 
local
 
level. Specifically,
 
ESSA
 
tasks
 
states
 
and
 
districts
 
to: Design
 
standards
 
and
 
assessments
 
that
 
develop
 
and
 
measure
 
higher-order
 
thinking
 
skills
 
for
 
all
 
students


 
Use
 
multiple
 
measures
 
to
 
assess
 
student
 
and
 
school
 
performance
 
and
 
progress


 
Document
 
resource
 
gaps


 
Consider
 
the
 
use
 
of
 
evidence-based
 
interventions
 
and
 
strategies
  
to
 
narrow
 
the
 
achievement
 
gap. District
 
leaders
 
must
 
craft
 
system-wide
 
reform
 
efforts
 
that
 
address
 
academic
 
expectations,
 
access
 
to
 
learning
 
opportunities,
 
high-quality
 
instruction,
 
resource
 
allocation,
 
and
 
accountability
 
to
 
achieve
 
educational
 
equity. This
 
brief
 
provides
 
strategies,
 
resources,
 
and
 
tools
 
to
 
improve
 
quality
 
 
of
 
instruction
 
and
 
academic
 
expectations
 
in
 
the
 
classroom. 2017
 
Hanover
 
Research
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