I have been trying to learn about equity in education recently. The always-reliable Wikipedia says,

Educational equity depends on two main factors. The first is fairness, which implies that factors specific to one’s personal conditions should not interfere with the potential of academic success. The second important factor is inclusion, which refers to a comprehensive standard that applies to everyone in a certain education system. These two factors are closely related and depend on each other for an educational system’s success.

If the illustration produced by the Center for American Progress is any indication, I am not convinced that even strong proponents of the concept have a satisfactory answer.

Why mention No Child Left Behind and ignore the Every Student Succeeds Act?  Does the mention of “cookie-cutter approaches” suggest a radical decentralization of the system?  If academic failure is the result of the failure of the community, then why do we spend so much money to address the problem at the school level?  Who pays the bill for massive funding increases “needed” to solve the problem?