STEP 1: Read the following articles to better understand equity and equality as they relate to education. Consider the status of school equity in America and reflect on what measures schools are taking to address inequality.
STEP 2: Research a school, either one that you attended growing up, one in your area, or the college or university you currently attend. Visit websites such as greatschools.org, National Center for Education Statistics: Search for Public Schools (for K-12), College Factual, National Center for Education Statistics: College Navigator, or others to gather information about the demographics at the school. Compile pertinent information regarding equity, racial and ethnic diversity, gender diversity, socioeconomic status, graduation rates, grades, poverty, disability, etc. to get a comprehensive understanding about equity at your selected school. How does this school address issues of equity?
STEP 3: Create a poster or infographic that addresses the major sociological issues related to education equity at your school. This can be done as a powerpoint slide, or using a program of your choice, such as Easelly, Canva, or Pik to Chart. Include appropriate citations and references in your poster.
- You can choose one issue related to education, such as racial diversity, or you can provide a quick look at multiple issues related to educational equity. Include relevant data about the diversity present in the students and/or staff at your school, how issues related to equity are addressed. Focus on a few pieces of data or information about your school and bring attention to the key points with graphics or other pictures.
- The following is an example template of an infographic related to issues in higher education:
Next, share your creation with the world so that others can benefit from your work! Using either Flickr or Wikimedia Commons, upload your finished product and publish it so that other sociology instructors and students can use and reference your work. Although not required, we strongly recommend uploading and releasing your work with a Creative Commons license.
STEP 4: Write an essay (400-500 words) critique of how well your school is doing and areas for improvement. Be sure to include references and citations for your arguments.
Rubric
| Criteria | Excellent (Exceeds Standards) | Good (Occasionally Exceeds) | Acceptable (Meets Standards) | Unacceptable (Below Standards) | Points |
| Education Equity Content | Strong presentation of key issues related to education equity, including data and terminology. Clearly delineates subtopics to be reviewed. Specific theme and connecting ideas evident. | Conveys topic of equity and key question(s). Clearly delineates subtopics to be reviewed. General theme is clear. | Conveys topic of equity, but not key question(s).Presents subtopics to be reviewed. General theme is present. | Does not adequately convey topic. Does not describe subtopics to be reviewed.Lacks adequate theme to portray issues of education equity. | __/10 |
| Presentation | Superior use of visual graphics to convey important points related to the topic. | Generally easy to identify main points visually, and useful graphics present to highlight important points. | Some use of visuals to display information, but layout is confusing or without clear connections. | No attempt at presenting information in a creative manner. Project lacks visual cohesion. | __/10 |
| Essay and Support | All material clearly related to subtopic, main topic. Strong organization and integration of material within subtopics. Very clear connections between ideas. Strong peer- reviewed or research based support for topic. |
All material clearly related to subtopic, main topic and logically organized within subtopics. Connections between ideas are organized and mostly clear. Sources well selected to support the topic with some research in support of thesis. |
Most material clearly related to subtopic, main topic. Material may not be organized within subtopics. Connections between ideas are hard to identify. Sources generally acceptable but not peer-reviewed research (evidence) based. |
Little evidence material is logically organized into topic, subtopics or related to topic. Connections between ideas are unclear. Few or no supporting sources for topic. Sources used are insignificant or unsubstantiated. |
__10 |
| Grammar & Mechanics | The paper is free of grammatical errors and spelling & punctuation. | Grammatical errors or spelling & punctuation are rare and do not detract from the paper. | Very few grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors interfere with reading the paper. | Grammatical errors or spelling & punctuation substantially detract from the paper. | __5 |
| Total: | __/35 |
