September 2023

On September 14, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) announced the release of the Equity in Education Dashboard. The dashboard incorporates key equity indicators that were recommended in the 2019 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) report, Monitoring Educational Equity, to measure progress on addressing inequities in education.

The dashboard reflects the seven domain areas highlighted in the NASEM report: kindergarten readiness; K–12 learning and engagement; educational attainment; extent of racial, ethnic, and economic segregation; equitable access to high-quality early learning programs; equitable access to high-quality curricula and instruction; and equitable access to supportive school and classroom environments.

Much of the dashboard’s information on the development of equity indicators is derived from NCES longitudinal surveys and administrative data collections. As an example, operational measures and data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010–11, are drawn upon for the equity indicators “Disparities in Academic Readiness” and “Disparities in Self-Regulation and Attention Skills.”

“We applaud NCES for developing this important resource to advance understanding of educational inequities,” said AERA Executive Director Felice J. Levine. “The Equity in Education Dashboard will serve as an invaluable source of data to inform strategies to reduce barriers that contribute to education inequities and to foster more equitable outcomes across education.”

The dashboard also serves as part of the Department of Education’s implementation of the 2021 Executive Order Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government.