NAACP Call for Action in Education.

This paper seeks to guarantee that all preK-college students are provided an equal opportunity for a world-class education, noting that ultimately, success must be measured by student achievement and recommending that all educational agencies partner with community agents to develop and implement strategies to remove racial disparities and improve the quality of education. The paper outlines areas in which the NAACP has identified consistent racial disparities, requesting that each agency create a Five-Year Educational Equity Partnership Plan for closing racial disparities in achievement by at least 50 percent. For K-12 education, the paper examines increasing resource equity, improving teacher quality, increasing access to early childhood programs, increasing access to a college-bound curriculum, creating smaller class sizes, closing the digital divide, high stakes testing, reducing the dropout rate, increasing parental involvement, special education and the overrepresentation and underservicing of minority children, eliminating racial disparities in suspension and expulsion, and resegregation trends. For higher education, it examines college preparation, college recruitment and admissions, college affordability and financial aid, faculty diversity, and retention and graduation. Recommendations are presented in each area. (SM)