Structural inequities in the educational system prevent many students from receiving a high-quality education. Educational equity, by contrast, seeks to ensure that all students receive the support they need to achieve their full potential in school and in life, regardless of their background.
In collaboration with our partners, NORC’s equity content experts, research scientists, evaluators, and technical assistance providers use a development and implementation process to inform efforts to address and eliminate inequities. NORC’s culturally responsive conceptual framing for co-creation and co-design is at the heart of this customized equity work.
NORC has provided research, evaluation, and technical assistance services for a variety of federally, state, and foundation-supported education equity projects. With a grant from the Spencer Foundation, NORC co-leads a research collaborative to improve educational policies and practices and develop a research agenda that is responsive to the strengths and needs of migrant and seasonal farmworker families. We are also working with the Colorado Department of Education to expand equitable and innovative measures to assess professional competencies for initial teacher licensure. In addition, NORC is examining the Illinois Equity in Attainment Initiative, a collaborative of 26 Illinois colleges and universities, to understand how they are implementing organizational change to better support Black and Latinx students.
