Success Gaps Rubric: Addressing Equity, Inclusion, and Opportunity

This rubric can help districts or schools address success gaps that exist between groups of their students, such as gaps in test scores or graduation rates between students with disabilities and other students. The rubric allows a team of users from a district or school to systematically examine the root causes of a success gap by focusing on elements leading to equity, inclusion, and opportunity. The updated rubric now includes considerations for children as young as preschool age.  A complementary white paper provides the research-based background that supported development of the rubric. State and local staff can contact their IDC State Liaisons for information on how the rubric can be modified to meet their state-specific needs. The rubric is now part of IDC's new Success Gaps Toolkit.

Companion Resources

These are resources that supplement the resource above.

An IDC Resource

Format: Toolkits

Success Gaps Toolkit: Addressing Equity, Inclusion, and Opportunity

The Success Gaps Toolkit presents a process for using data and the Success Gap Rubric to identify root causes of gaps between groups of children in districts or schools. These success gaps occur when the education system is not meeting the needs of all groups of children and outcomes for some groups are different than outcomes for most groups. The toolkit, with its process and materials, provides a manageable and defined way for districts or schools to identify success gaps that are present and their root causes and then make a plan for addressing the gaps. The success gaps may be the graduation rate of students who are English learners compared to the rate of all other children, the out-of-school suspension rate of children who are Black compared to the rate of all other children, the identification of children who are Hispanic as children with specific learning disabilities compared to the identification of all other children, and other gaps.

Related Content

An IDC Resource

Format: Guides and Briefs

Measuring Significant Discrepancy: An Indicator B4 Technical Assistance Guide

The TA guide describes the methods a state might use to appropriately determine which of its districts has a significant discrepancy (including a significant discrepancy by race or ethnicity) in the rates of out-of-school suspensions and expulsions totaling greater than 10 days for children with disabilities.

An IDC Resource

Format: Guides and Briefs

Methods for Assessing Racial/Ethnic Disproportionality in Special Education

This TA guide addresses the more common methods for calculating racial/ethnic disproportionality in special education. IDC revised the guide, which the Data Accountability Center (DAC) originally published in October 2011, because of a change in SPP/APR Indicators 9 and 10 to remove underrepresentation from the measure.