ASCD PD Online courses are self-paced, web-based, media-rich learning experiences that help users deepen their understanding of today's most important education topics. Each course includes video content, readings, auto-graded assessments, downloadable applications, and reflections. You must register for your class through Puget Sound ESD in order to request PSESD clock hours or Seattle University college credit. Instructions for beginning your class and requesting clock hours or SU credit will be included in your registration confirmation email. Check your Junk/Spam folder if you do not see it!

You can register anytime between September 1, 2025 and August 25, 2026, but your course MUST be completed by August 31, 2026.

Today’s schools are challenged with bringing underachieving students up to satisfactory levels of performance while continuing to provide enriching instruction for students already ideally placed on the achievement continuum. 

Easy solutions to this problem simply don’t exist. In this course, we’ll explore the many factors that contribute to unequal patterns of achievement among different groups of students, but one inescapable reality lies at the root of the problem: disparities in achievement occur because some students are better prepared to achieve than others. Although educators can address some of the issues that affect students’ readiness to learn, it will take a network of concerned people and institutions to help students overcome other barriers to academic achievement. 

Throughout the course, we will look to Dan Laitsch, the former senior policy analyst at ASCD who wrote Policy Perspectives, to help us make sense of the research about achievement gaps, as well as to provide insight about education policies that support educators’ earnest efforts to attain equity in achievement.

Please Note: This class satisfies the Equity requirement for certificate renewal.