◾Access to opportunity shaped our nation’s past and defines its future. Opportunity has always been intangible, but for too many Americans, it’s becoming invisible. If access to meaningful opportunity is increasingly limited to the few, affluent and well connected, America’s future is at risk – and we want to help change that.
Phase 1: Describe the Dynamics
The ETS Opportunity Project reflects ETS’s commitment to change. The first phase of the project focused on analyzing the complex and self-reinforcing dynamics governing the distribution and intergenerational transmission of opportunity. The goal was to describe these dynamics in a way that would advance our national conversation about the increasing polarization of opportunity and, more importantly, why we must take action. As such we have produced an edited volume, The Dynamics of Opportunity in America, as well as a policy report, Choosing Our Future. Both are concerned with aspects of opportunity in America. These works have been released as part of a campaign to catalyze the conversation.
Phase 2: Leverage Collective Experience
The second phase, happening now, focuses on bringing together individuals and organizations involved with effective interventions. The intent of this phase is to leverage this collective experience, leading to an actionable and flexible framework that will explicitly identify principles, best practices and key indicators that can guide efforts to reduce disparities in opportunity.
We hope to initiate a long-term effort that will build on these two phases by developing an action agenda in collaboration with key individuals and organizations around the country.
The ETS Opportunity Project is an initiative from ETS, the world’s leading nonprofit educational research and assessment organization.