Using research data in practice is not an easy task; rather, it requires educators and local decision makers to delve beyond the summary data and dive into a series of analyses that show the performance and experiences of specific groups of students.
A recent report by WestEd offers local decision makers valuable insights on using disaggregated quantitative data to understand educational disparities. Because one overall effect size might not reflect the specific performance of a given subgroup, separating quantitative data for student subgroups by specific criteria (e.g., ethnicity) provides a better picture of the inequalities that inform educational decisions. For example, is a certain outcome consistent for all ethnic groups? Does it differ by socio-economic status? Is it specific to students facing challenges?
The report focuses on three measures to address disproportionality, namely, overrepresenting or underrepresenting groups of students in an educational context. Take, for example, a district with 10% immigrant students who are 30 times more likely to receive detention compared to their peers of the same age. The three measures are:
- The Composition Index that allows gauging the proportion of specific student groups within a particular outcome. This index helps us grasp the representation of different groups in the context of the outcome.
- The Risk Rate that measures how often a specific group experiences a particular outcome compared to other groups. This rate allows us to assess how certain groups fare in relation to others regarding the specific outcome in question.
- The Relative Risk Ratio: This provides a standardized measure for comparing the risk rates among various student groups, allowing us to identify disparities in the outcome.
