The Achievement Network

Chief of School and System Services for Achievement Network, Michelle Odemwingie, stated in an article for The 74 Media that ANet works with school systems and policy makers to develop equity assessments that determine curriculum and teaching strategies. She argued that equity assessments are better for improving grades for ethnic minorities than using traditional standardized testing. ²

Background

Founded in 2006, The Achievement Network is a left-of-center 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. In 2021, it worked with over 940 schools, including 330,000 students in 26 states, to develop curriculum plans based on its equity assessments. ANet uses identity politics to advocate for policy that determines education standards based on a student’s race, arguing that existing policies are discriminatory towards ethnic minorities. ³

ANet has a critical race theory-aligned “Anti-Racist Organization Policy” that it states is designed to counter what it argues is ongoing systemic racism in school systems that cause ethnic minorities, students with disabilities, and multilingual students to perform worse academically. Under its policy, ANet uses the identity politics concept of intersectionality to train its employees and guide its consulting with school systems. ⁴

Activities

The Achievement Network started a Breakthrough Results Fund in 2018, working with five school districts across five years to study what factors prohibit equal educational outcomes across various racial, socioeconomic, and other groups. The partnership includes the East Baton Rouge Parish School System, Carlsbad Municipal Schools, Lorain City Schools, Bellevue School District, and the Madison Metropolitan School District. Half of the fund is paid for by each school system and the other half was raised by ANet, equaling $1 million per school system. ⁵

ANet offers two consulting strategies, the first being a four to six month “Strategy Engagement” program that creates equity assessments for schools to use as opposed to standardized tests. It then advises schools on how to incorporate the results of the assessments in teaching the curriculum, with a goal of having equal academic outcomes among races and other groups. ⁶

ANet’s second consulting strategy it offers is a year-long coaching option that builds on the services it offers in its “Strategy Engagement” program. This option includes an ongoing analysis of data points gathered from the equity assessments and ongoing coaching based on outcomes as the school year progresses. ⁶

Funding

The Achievement Network reported on its 2020 tax returns that it received $8.0 million in contributions and received $21.9 million in income from its program services, resulting in $30.0 million in total income for the year. ⁷ It also reported owning $12.0 million in net assets. ⁸ ANet reported having $32.5 million in total expenditures, $21.7 million of which was in salaries and compensation and $4.3 million was spent on pensions and employee benefits. It also spent $1.9 million on professional fees, $1.1 million on occupancy, and $1.5 million on travel expenses. ⁹

In April 2022, it was announced that MacKenzie Scott donated $15 million to ANet as a part of her expressed commitment to donate her wealth to philanthropy. She stated her goal for her donations was to increase “equity” and donate to charities with a history of doing so. ¹⁰