Publications About Closing the Gaps

Following is a list of all Education Trust publications arranged from newest to oldest.

If you know the title of a specific publication but cannot find it, type the name in the Search box at the top of this page. To find a publication on a specific topic, go to the Filter Publications box and choose a topic or audience from the drop-down menu. Or you can click on one of the “tags” beneath a publication listed below to view all our publications on that topic.

All Education Trust publications are available as free downloads. Publications marked with an asterisk (*) are available in print. Please contact rsmiles@edtrust.org for more information.

Breaking the Glass Ceiling of Achievement for Low-Income Students and Students of Color

While gaps between student groups have narrowed over time at the below basic level of performance, gaps at the advanced level have widened. And among higher income groups, gap-widening between white students and students of color is more pronounced. Educators seeking to close gaps must raise the bar for all students.

Publication date: 
May 14 2013
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Instructional Supports: The Missing Piece in State Education Standards

The transition from current state learning standards to college- and career-ready standards being rolled out across the nation is more than a subtle shift. In "Instructional Supports: The Missing Piece in State Education Standards," The Education Trust offers insights about the best ways states can support our nation's educators in their efforts to help students meet high academic standards.

Publication date: 
March 30 2012
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Los Padres Quieren Saber

Las madres, los padres, los encargados y sus comunidades deberían tener acceso a datos comprensivos y fácilmente obtenibles acerca de las escuelas de sus hijos. El folleto “Los Padres Quieren Saber” de The Education Trust observa la reautorización de la ley educativa actual (ESEA, por sus siglas en inglés) y describe la necesidad de tener informes públicos en áreas tan cruciales como logro académico, escuelas superiores, clima escolar, maestras/os, distritos, y presupuestos. 

Publication date: 
February 15 2012

Parents Want to Know

Parents and communities should have access to comprehensive, easily accessible data on how schools are doing. In "Parents Want to Know," the Ed Trust zeroes in on the expected reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act as the opportunity for lawmakers to require public reporting on such crucial indicators as achievement, high schools, school climate, teachers, school districts, and funding levels.

Publication date: 
September 29 2011

Getting it Right: Crafting Federal Accountability for Higher Student Performance and a Stronger America

Whether through reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act or using the Department of Education’s waiver authority, federal policymakers must fix what No Child Left Behind got wrong, while salvaging what it got right: a focus on improving achievement and closing gaps for all groups of students. In this report, The Education Trust details its recommendations for new federal accountability policy.

Publication date: 
September 13 2011

Stuck Schools Revisited: Beneath the Averages

“Stuck Schools Revisited: Beneath the Averages” shows why a national focus on turning around the lowest performing schools, while needed, is not enough to raise achievement and close gaps. The report analyzes student achievement data from Maryland and Indiana, which reflect the outcomes seen in other states.

Publication date: 
April 27 2011

Essential Elements of Teacher Policy in ESEA: Effectiveness, Fairness, and Evaluation

Currently, performance evaluation systems used to assess teachers in virtually every school system in the United States fail to differentiate between individual teachers who boost student learning and those who need to improve. As a result, the students who need the most from their teachers are far less likely to get those who can help them achieve at high levels.

In this report, the Center for American Progress and The Education Trust recommend ways to strengthen the teacher provisions of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act, or ESEA.

Publication date: 
February 22 2011

Shut Out of the Military: Today's High School Education Doesn't Mean You're Ready for Today's Army*

In “Shut Out of the Military,” the first-ever public analysis of the Army’s Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB), Ed Trust finds that more than one in five young people interested in enlisting does not meet the minimum eligibility standard required for the Army (as measured by the Armed Forces Qualification Test, comprised of four academic subtests of the ASVAB).

Publication date: 
December 20 2010
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Not Prepared for Class: High Poverty Schools Continue to Have Fewer In-Field Teachers

Nearly a decade after federal law was enacted to ensure that low-income students and students of color had a fair shot at being assigned to strong teachers, students in high-poverty schools are still disproportionately taught by out-of-field and rookie teachers.

Publication date: 
November 18 2010
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Close the Hidden Funding Gaps in Our Schools

“Close the Hidden Funding Gaps in Our Schools” shines a light on widespread and unjust district budgeting practices and offers Congress a straightforward legislative path: Fix the so-called comparability provisions of Title I.

Publication date: 
April 1 2010
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