Secondary School Policies that Support Black Students Earning a Placement in Calculus Upon Enrollment into Institutions of Higher Learning

• In Event: AERA Graduate Student Research-in-Progress Roundtable Session 1
  In Roundtable Session: Mathematics Education: Black Women Teachers, Student Agency, and College Placement and Readiness (Table 7)

Abstract

For decades, Black students have experienced structural barriers rooted in anti-Blackness yielding an underrepresentation in mathematics proficiency. Calculus is critical for students' success in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) majors. Thus, Black students' underrepresentation jeopardizes their earning potential and the workforce's diversity. This multiple case study of two urban high schools that consistently graduate Black students who place in Calculus at a flagship state university will identify policies that secondary schools can enact to support Black student preparation for college Calculus placement. Using Black Critical Theory (BlackCrit) as a framework for regarding educational policy as a site of anti-Blackness is an acknowledgement of Black folks' historic and current struggle for educational opportunity.

Author

• Kenya Marie Overton, University of Connecticut