In Pursuit of Equity and
Excellence in Education
Pedro A. Noguera, Ph.D.
Graduate School of Education
Harvard University
Agenda
• Understanding the achievement gap
– Equity vs. excellence
• Understanding our students
• Designing systems of support for
students
• Addressing disparities in discipline
• Impacting the quality of instruction
Equity vs. Excellence: Competing or
Compatible Goals?
• Equity - Equality of opportunity with attention to
equality in results
– Key Principle #1 - Unless we can challenge the
normalization of failure, nothing will change
• American education tends to be based upon
competition and individualism
– Triage approach to teaching results in focus on
advanced students at expense of others
– Political pressure influences priorities and
allocation of resources
Shifting Paradigms: Focusing
on all students
• Schools often base their effectiveness on the
performance of their most successful
students
• High achieving students are typically
assigned to the best teachers, weaker
students tend to be assigned to weaker
teachers
– Key principle #2 - Students who have
less must be given more if they are
going to have a chance to succeed.
What we know about student
achievement
• All students do learn, educators need to understand
how they learn
• Much of what students know is not recognized in
school; over emphasis on deficits
• We generally expect students to adapt to the
instructional styles of their teachers
• Remedial programs are often ineffective
– Key principle #3 - students who are behind must work
harder, longer and under conditions that offer possibility
of success
Exceptions to Patterns:Immigrant
Students
– Tend to be over-represented among successful
and at-risk students
– Amount of prior learning in home culture is
significant
– Class and educational backgrounds of parents is
significant
– Socialization process may produce conflict for
students
At-Risk Students
• Tend to lack support at
home - come with lower
literacy skills
• Tend to live in highstress environments
• Often provided
ineffective support at
school
• Likely to be labeled in
ways that reinforce
problematic behavior
• More likely to internalize
labels, vulnerable to
adult expectations
• Behavior problems
often overshadow
academic problems
• Punishment alone does
not help
• Need to find ways to
promote resilience
• Need structure and
support
What we Know About High
Achievers
• More likely to receive
intellectual and material
support at home
• May require less
structure at school
• May be less teacher
dependent and even
“teacher proof”
• More likely to have
clear goals and to be
self motivated
• Generally get the most
and best resources in
school
• More likely to get bored
unless stimulated and
challenged
• Need to develop
intrinsic motivation
• Master the “game of
school” easily
Reflection:
• Key principle # 4 - By knowing more about our
students we will be in a better position to serve
them well.
• Key Questions:
– What is the profile of students who fail at your school? Race,
class, neighborhood.
– What strategies are in place to address their needs? How
effective are these interventions?
– What are your students interested in? How do they spend
their time outside of school? How do they learn?
– How do you go about identifying talent and potential?
Developing systems of
support for students
• Step 1: Analyze the academic data
– Diagnostic data
– Grades and test scores
• Disaggregated by race, ses, teacher
– Course enrollment patterns
– Attendance and attrition
– Discipline patterns
Step II. Analyze the organization of
your school
• Key Questions:
– How are students and teachers assigned to
courses?
• Which ones are your gate keeper courses?
– What obstacles and barriers prevent students from
attaining access to advanced courses?
• Where can students get help if they need it?
– How is information related to preparation for
college made available to students and parents?
Step III. Analyze the culture of your
school
• Key Principle #5 - Changing the organization of a school
will not necessarily change the culture; changing culture is
more important
• Key Questions:
– What is the mission of your school? What are its values?
How are these conveyed?
– How are relationships between students and adults
promoted and maintained? Which students are most likely to
slip through the cracks or be ignored?
– How would you characterize relationships between adults at
your school? Is your staff willing to help each other,
students, or the school?
– Is your school safe? Do students and teachers feel
supported?
Other data you may need
• Survey data from students, teachers,
parents
• Focus group data for specialized groups
• Exit interviews from teachers or
students who leave your school
• Use pattern data - to determine which
constituencies make most use of school
resources
Step IV. Use Data to Plan and
Implement Change
• Key Principle #1 - Unless you can challenge the
normalization of failure change is not possible.
• Arrange for public discussions of the data
– Use meetings to solicit ideas for other research
strategies
– Involve parents and students - systems of mutual
accountability
– Use the data to plan with community agencies to
develop coordinate delivery systems
– Avoid blame, keep it constructive by focusing on
the goal - increased achievement
Systems Continued
• Make use of data to set benchmarks
– to guide reforms and develop strategies for
intervention
– to evaluate existing intervention programs
• Designate team to monitor patterns
• Identify partners in the local community that can
assist the school in achieving its goals (e.g churches,
non-profits, local businesses)
• Utilize supplemental resources: after-school and
community-based programs
• Maintain focus on quality control
Reflection:
• Key Principle #6 - Quality counts, and reforms
that are not based upon efforts to improve quality
will not work.
• Key Questions:
• What it will take for your school or district to develop
systems for raising student achievement
– What data will you need?
– Who will collect and analyze it?
– How will you present it to staff, parents, students?
Interventions that work
• AVID, Young Black Scholars
• Accelerated summer school
– Upward Bound, MESA
• Transition classes, Puente
• Project SEED
• Coordinated services
• See Effective Programs for Students at Risk by Slavin, Karweit
and Wasik (1989) Boston: Allyn and Bacon and “Promising
Programs for Eelementary and Middle Schools: Evidence of
Effectiveness and Replicability” by Fashola and Slavin Journal
of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 2(3), 251-307, 1997
Disparities in Discipline
• Which students are most frequently disciplined?
– What are the patterns with respect to race, class,
gender
– What is the academic profile of disciplined
students
• How do teachers/administrators use referrals?
– What are the strategies used by teachers who give
the fewest referrals?
• How effective are discipline practices?
– Is discipline for punishment or learning?
Classroom Management
• Key Principle #7 - Intellectual engagement is key
to an orderly classroom
• Passive learning is difficult for some students, need
active engagement
– Constructive noise, music and movement are ok
• Low achievers are frequently most likely to disrupt
learning environment - must identify causes
– Must address learning needs
– Must address self esteem and sense of
competence
– Treat removal from classroom as last resort, not
first
Classroom Management
Continued
• Need for fairness and consistency in application of
rules and punishments
• Consider alternative forms of punishment
– Extra work
– Retribution to victims
– Community service
• Address the values and ethics underlying the rules moral responsibility
Insuring Academic Excellence
• Align instructional strategies to state
standards and assessments
• Teaching and Learning must be linked:
Teachers must constantly look for evidence of
learning
• Support and encourage students to take
advanced courses
• Develop intrinsic motivation to learn - discuss
the purpose of education with students
Demystify school success
• Teach study skills
• Start from the end: show and explain
what excellent work looks like
• Provide intensive academic counseling
for students and parents
• Discuss future plans early and expose
students to options
Impacting the classroom:
Building strong links between teaching and
learning
• Key Ingredients
– Diagnostic assessment
– Reflective teaching
– On-site and continuous professional
development
• Mentoring
• Effective evaluation
• Effective use of staff meetings
– Effective use of homework
Reflection: How can we learn
from student work?
• What does good work look like?
• What patterns do you observe?
• What are the implications for teaching?
Effective Teaching Strategies for
Reducing Academic Disparities
• Active learning, interactive classroom
– Moving away from the cemetery model
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Teaching within the zone of proximal development
Constructivist, inquiry-based pedagogical strategies
Simulations
Socratic seminars
Project based learning
Experiential learning
Student leadership in the classroom
Public presentations of student work