Schools and school systems must take care to accommodate the special needs of some students without inhibiting the learning of others. Technology can help achieve equity in the classroom. Moreover, technology can be effective in attracting students who disengage from nontechnological approaches to mathematics. It is important that all students have opportunities to use technology in appropriate ways so that they have access to interesting and important mathematical ideas. Access to technology must not become yet another dimension of educational inequity.
Equity requires resources and support for all classrooms and all students.
These examples should become the norm rather than the exception in school mathematics education. Achieving equity requires a significant allocation of human and material resources in schools and classrooms. Instructional tools, curriculum materials, special supplemental programs, and the skillful use of community resources undoubtedly play important roles. An even more important component is the professional development of teachers. Teachers need help to understand the strengths and needs of students who come from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds, who have specific disabilities, or who possess a special talent and interest in mathematics.