Amplifying Student and Community Voices

Abstract

Observed achievement gaps and underlying opportunity gaps persist in schools in America, despite attempts to fix the problem. This persistence is due, in part, to the fact that there is no single silver bullet of an intervention that addresses the inequities in every school and district. The equity audit process this chapter discusses works by amplifying stakeholder voices to first identify inequitable practices of a given context, then matches interventions and best practices to those identified problem areas, and, finally, creates space for a review process with engaged stakeholders. The proposed methodology includes triangulating data from surveys, focus groups, policy document analysis, and available datasets. While the proposed process considers room for supplemental and nuanced inquiry, the author proposes key areas of investigation. Once data has been collected on these areas, the work continues by implementing best practices and continuing a system of evaluation and refinement.