Schools of Excellence AND Equity? Using Equity Audits as a Tool to Expose a Flawed System of Recognition

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how equity audits can be used as a tool to expose disparate achievement in schools that, on the surface and to the public, appear quite similar. To that end, the researcher probed beyond surface-level performance composite scores into deeper, more hidden data associated with state-recognized "Honor Schools of Excellence." How is "excellence" defined and operationalized in these schools? Are these schools "excellent" for all students? Can a school really be classified by the state as "excellent" and yet still have significant "gaps" and disparities? If so, is the state's formula used to identify exemplary schools too simple, dogmatic, and institutionally flawed? Through the use of equity audits, quantitative data was collected to scan for systemic patterns of equity and inequity across multiple domains of student learning and activities within 24 elementary schools. The intent was to document and distinguish between schools that are promoting and supporting both academic excellence (small gap schools; SGS) and systemic equity and schools that are not (large gap schools; LGS). Results reveal that although demographic, teacher quality, and programmatic audits all indicated a fair amount of equity between SGS and LGS, the achievement audit between both types of schools indicated great disparities. By controlling for or eliminating some of the external variables and internal factors often cited for the achievement gaps between white middle-class children and children of color or children from low-income families, the findings from this study raise more questions than answers. Results do indicate that equity audits are a practical, easy-to-apply tool that educators can use to identify inequalities objectively.