Policy and Practice Brief - Making It Matter - A Systems Approach to Advancing Equity and Excellence for Students - April 2023

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Rhys

Policy and Practice Brief “Making It Matter” outlines a systems approach for advancing equity and excellence for students, grounded in evidence from California’s recent Smarter Balanced results and the widening disparities affecting historically neglected groups. It synthesizes key takeaways from three 2021–22 meetings of the California Collaborative on District Reform, emphasizing that centering equity requires explicit, visible commitment by district leaders and conversion of that commitment into systemic action across board policy, district operations, and classroom practice.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Theme One: System Leaders’ Explicit and Visible Commitment to Equity Is Essential

Meeting Insights from California Collaborative on District Reform

Policy and Practice Brief Making It Matter A Systems Approach to Advancing Equity and Excellence for Students APRIL 2023 Authors Linda Choi American Institutes for Research Jennifer O’Day American Institutes for Research About the California Collaborative on District Reform The California Collaborative on District Reform was formed in 2006 to join researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and funders in ongoing, evidence-based dialogue to improve instruction and student learning for all students in California’s urban school systems. Introduction When California released its most recent Smarter Balanced standardized test results in October 2022, the picture was not pretty: only 47% of students met state standards in English language arts, while a mere 33% performed at standard in math. Declines in test scores were widespread across all student groups. More troubling, disparities among racial and ethnic groups and English learners, which had existed prior to the pandemic, had widened, adding new evidence that the pandemic had impacted certain student groups more acutely than others. In light of these outcomes, the stakes are incredibly high in California to provide access to a high-quality education in a safe environment for all students. Reverting to business as usual will not work because the system was not working for historically neglected populations—students with disabilities, students from low-income households, foster youth, homeless youth, undocumented students, indigenous students, Black and Brown students, and students who identify as LGBTQ—prior to the pandemic. As districts across the state resumed full-time instruction and began the task of pandemic recovery, members of the California Collaborative on District Reform convened three times in 2021–22 to continue and deepen their ongoing exploration of local strategies for meeting students’ academic, social and emotional, and mental health needs. Of particular concern in these gatherings was the need to address systemic contributors to the persistent inequities in both educational opportunities and outcomes that the pandemic had accentuated. This brief summarizes key takeaways from discussions among meeting participants exploring ways in which school systems center equity in their work. Importantly, the districts sharing their work and strategies in these meetings vary significantly in the human capital and other resources available to them, and each is at a different place in its equity journey. Nevertheless, the core takeaway was clear: centering equity begins with an explicit and visible commitment on the part of district leaders. But words alone are not enough. Participants in these meetings stressed that this commitment must become systemic action and must be integrated into all aspects of a district’s work. This was both the message and the goal of the district leaders participating in these Collaborative convenings. Below we discuss four recurring themes that emerged from these discussions. Theme One: System Leaders’Explicit and Visible Commitment to Equity Is Essential Building an environment of educational excellence where all students feel they belong and can thrive physically, socially, emotionally, and academically requires a systemwide commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) . This commitment begins with system leaders—starting with the school board, extending to the district office, down to site leadership, and into the classroom. All have an obligation to provide California students, who bring a wide range of assets and abilities to their classrooms, with access to opportunities for success. However, there are serious challenges to districts’ commitments to DEI, so it is all the more essential that system leaders’ commitment to advancing equity is explicit and visible. One way to highlight this commitment, for both the public and school personnel, is through board policy that recognizes that deep instit

FAQs

What problem does the brief address in California’s education system?

It describes declining achievement in English language arts and math and widening gaps by race/ethnicity and English learner status after the pandemic, with equity concerns affecting many historically neglected student groups.

What is the central idea of the brief regarding centering equity?

Centering equity starts with an explicit and visible commitment from district leaders, but words must be translated into systemic action integrated across all district work.

How does the brief suggest equity commitments can be made visible?

Through board policy that recognizes institutional discrimination and bias and codifies equity as a foundational district priority, supported by concrete commitments to affected student groups.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Rhys