Resource Library

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.

States are allowed to use sampling for collecting data for select Part B State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report indicators. Sampling can provide an effective means for targeting resources for data collection and improving data quality. However, there are important requirements that states must consider when designing and implementing their sampling plans. States can use this interactive self-assessment tool to determine whether their state’s sampling plan addresses Office of Special Education Programs sampling requirements for best practice and to identify action steps to improve their sampling procedures.

The Equity in IDEA regulations require states to determine annually if local education agencies (LEAs) are identified with significant disproportionality. The regulations outline specific requirements related to methods for identifying LEAs and activities the LEAs must complete after they are identified. These significant disproportionality resources can assist states with implementing these requirements and supporting LEAs through the process of meeting the requirements.

This interactive resource provides states with an overview on how to gather representative parent involvement data for Part B SPP/APR Indicator 8. The resource defines key concepts such as representativeness, sampling, nonresponse bias, response rates, and weighting. It also offers information on how to improve the quality of parent involvement data, including strategies that can help states collect representative data and evaluate and improve the representativeness of their data before, during, and after data collection. 

The NRBA App is an interactive nonresponse bias application powered by state-of-the-art statistical software. We developed this application to help states examine their SPP/APR Indicator 8 and Indicator 14 data through nonresponse bias analysis. The NRBA App allows users to conduct reproducible analyses of response rates, representativeness, and nonresponse bias, tailored to their survey’s data collection method.

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.

Significant disproportionality with regard to identifying children as children with disabilities or as children with specific disabilities is, by definition, overrepresentation. This resource defines overrepresentation and three related terms: over-identification, under-identification, and underrepresentation. States can use this resource, in conjunction with the Success Gaps Toolkit to help identify and address the factors contributing to significant disproportionality (i.e., overrepresentation) within school districts.