Unfulfilled Potential: High-Achieving Minority Students and the High School Opportunity Gap

• In Event: Pathways Through Math Across Levels of Schooling

Abstract

Using data from the High School Longitudinal Study 2009, this study examines a subset of the highest performing 9th graders and explores the extent that achievement gaps in math increase for high performing African American and Latino students during high school. Multilevel modeling is used to examine the magnitude of the gap and the mechanisms for why it occurs. This study finds that, on average, Asian and white high achieving students experience far greater gains in high school math than their African American and Latino high achieving peers. Factors such as advanced course placement and school socio-economic status explain away the gap for high achieving Latino students and some of the gap for African American students.

Authors

• Stephen Kotok, The University of Texas - El Paso

• Pablo Reyes, University of Texas - El Paso