Racial Inequality in High-School Math Course Enrollments: A Longitudinal Analysis

• In Event: Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Educational Access, Achievement, and Schooling Experiences

Abstract

Black students are less likely than white students to take advanced math courses by the end of high school. Most prior research has examined students’ course enrollments as static, one-time events, rather than outcomes that are nested within a hierarchical course-taking sequence that unfolds over multiple years of schooling. Preliminary analyses of statewide longitudinal data from Indiana (grades 7-12) show that racial inequality in advanced course-taking in 11th and 12th grade is largely explained by racial disparities in placements in 8th grade math courses, as well as racial inequality in 7th grade math achievement. Additional analyses will explore how other student- and school-level factors shape racial inequality in attrition from the advanced math course-taking sequence.

Authors

• William Carbonaro, University of Notre Dame

• Leon J. Gilman, University of Notre Dame