Pursuing What’s Possible: Equitable Learning Journeys

Last year was filled with tremendous challenges that forced the world of education to continually pivot and adapt. It also made vividly clear that ETS’s mission – to advance quality and equity in education by providing fair and valid assessments, research and related services – has never been more critical.

Now is the time for us to act with purpose and ask ourselves, “what’s necessary,” and, “what’s possible?” For all the progress we’re making in this world, many people are still left behind, facing inequities in education, housing, finance, food and more. As a society, we must do everything we can to address these inequities because it’s the right thing to do. If successful, we’ll have a much better world to live in for ourselves, our children and generations to come. At ETS, we believe the journey to those possibilities starts with learning. Therefore, now is the time to engage our community of learners, educators, parents and leaders like never before in the pursuit of creating more equitable learning journeys for more people.

I tend to take an optimist viewpoint and I believe that there is a universal human desire to learn. In person or remote, kindergarten or community college, in grad school or the workplace, people continuously seek opportunities to learn, driven by curiosity, a need for personal growth and professional development. Yet, I am also a realist, and recognize that learning opportunities are not the same for everyone. We as a nation have a lot to do, we as a company have a lot to do, and we have a great opportunity to effect change like never before. We must make learning more equitable.

That’s why in 2021, we are renewing our long-term focus on creating equitable learning journeys, exploring each step to uncover gaps and work with partners across the education industry to identify and implement solutions to uncover possibilities for more people and communities.

The Road Ahead

As a research organization, it is important to define that which we seek to understand. We believe an equitable learning journey makes learning more accessible and ensures that who you are and where you come from doesn’t impact your options to learn and fulfill your dreams. It is an open-ended path that can uncover possibilities and expand experiences by accommodating and accounting for personal, social and environmental circumstances.

Creating more equitable learning journeys for more people is a difficult but necessary endeavor, and we at ETS feel a shared responsibility with learners, educators and our partners in education to strive for this goal. We will work to bring clarity and understanding to the roadblocks that inhibit equitable learning journeys so we can address the most pressing issues in higher education and seek change.

I have been taking time over the past several weeks to hear from ETS colleagues about the most pressing issues in learning. Some of the key issues that came up during those conversations are the achievement gap, increasing digital literacy and preparedness and educator diversity. We will work together with scholars, practitioners and policymakers to highlight these important issues and provide a space – virtually for now, but eventually face-to-face – for conversations across the country on these topics. We know that change begins with knowledge and we will continue to share our research so we can jointly move the needle on equitable learning journeys and take real steps to close these gaps.

Ultimately, we aspire to convene key stakeholders across the education sector to discuss what we uncover about equitable learning journeys, building on the work of our Center for Advocacy and Philanthropy and grassroots organizations to engage civil rights leaders, and culminating in a national conversation on how we can make learning journeys more equitable.

A renewed spirit of collaboration

Equitable learning is more than part of our mission, it’s why we exist, and if we can’t work to achieve that then we don’t deserve to exist.

My family didn’t have a lot of money when I was growing up. I worked construction after high school until I could pay my way through community college, and eventually Rutgers University-Camden. It wasn’t until my mentor there suggested that I go to graduate school that I had even considered that path. He helped give me the tools I needed to explore new possibilities that led to earning my Ph.D. at Rutgers University-New Brunswick and eventually where I am today – here at ETS.

And that’s where we as ETS can make a huge difference, in making sure students and teachers have the tools they need for learning and to see their potential. We’re expanding R&D efforts to develop state-of-the-art learning tools, and our Institute for Student Achievement transforms schools so students who are traditionally underserved and underperforming graduate – prepared for success in college and careers. Through these efforts, and the conversations and initiatives we will lead and support with others, ETS needs to help find ways for people to discover more opportunity to have tools that help them learn and show what they know and can do.

What good is progress if we can’t bring everybody along with us in the journey to what’s possible?

So, I invite you to follow along with us throughout the year as we examine equitable learning journeys, for we all have a role to play in solving these important issues. We share responsibility as an education community, and as a society, to OWN it by relentlessly pursuing equitable learning journeys not just because of the great benefits we as a collective can realize, but because we can. And that is the spirit of asking what’s possible: pushing ourselves to expand and break through boundaries, to go as far as we can and to refuse to be limited by anything. Only then will we know what’s truly possible.