Equitable student outcomes are a fundamental component of Pathways to Results, and discussions throughout this process provide the foundation for understanding improved outcomes and equity for students. Through the Equity and Outcomes Assessment, the Pathways to Results team determines— through data, information collection, and analysis—where equity gaps exist to guide the Pathways to Results process. This process of identifying, selecting, and analyzing disaggregated student-outcomes data is introduced using the Pathways to Results definition of equity. To disaggregate student data means to break the information into subgroups of the students based on categories such as race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status.
The Equity and Outcomes Assessment is intentionally designed so that all team members individually and collectively analyze and interpret data. This process begins with an activity that helps the team to center its Pathways to Results work on issues of educational equity. Through this process, team members engage with one another on issues of equity and select data that are analyzed to reveal gaps in student access and outcomes. Team members are asked to think about equity gaps and consider how student outcomes are different for various groups while analyzing student-outcomes data. Additionally, they identify gaps and develop a problem description and goals that guide the Pathways to Results process moving forward.
The goals of this phase are to: