Understanding Pipelines for Postsecondary Readiness: An RPP Multiple Case Study

• In Event: Reducing Disparities in Postsecondary Readiness, Matriculation, and Persistence

Abstract

Helping students prepare for their postsecondary education often revolves around early and ongoing access to accelerated learning opportunities. However, there are clearly documented disparities in elementary gifted programs (Peters, 2022), middle school Algebra I (Patrick et al., 2020), and high school Advanced Placement (AP; Kolluri, 2020) courses based on students’ race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status (SES). Much of this is predicated on differences in opportunities to learn (OTL; Callahan & Azano, 2021), where students from racial and ethnic minority and low-SES backgrounds are less likely to have access to advanced coursework opportunities. Other contributing factors include lack of communication about advanced coursework opportunities with Black, Latine, and low-SES families (Price, 2021), gatekeeping practices that act as a barrier to entry (Hirschl & Smith, 2023), and overreliance on standardized test scores to determine "readiness" for advanced coursework, even though students from minoritized backgrounds are less likely to be identified as gifted even when they score at the 95th or 99th percentile on reading and math assessments (Grissom et al., 2019). All of this contributes to the practice of academic tracking, whereby students who are identified for accelerated opportunities early are able to persist on that pathway through high school while students who are not are largely omitted from future rigorous coursework (Terrin & Trevinti, 2023). Research has thoroughly documented how tracking often falls along racial and socioeconomic lines, with White, Asian, and higher SES students being more likely to follow accelerated pathways than their Black, Latine, and lower-SES peers (Lewis & Diamond, 2017).

To explore how enrollment practices either facilitate or inhibit equitable access and support for advanced coursework, a mid-Atlantic research-practice partnership (RPP; Farrell et al., 2021) conducted a multiple case study in a suburban, racially and socioeconomically diverse middle school (approximately 1,100 students) and a rural, predominantly white and socioeconomically diverse high school (approximately 900 students) demonstrating higher proportionality in advanced coursework representation than state averages. RPP researchers partnered with two school districts to interview parents and educators and conduct focus groups with students to inquire about their views of advanced coursework access in their schools. A total of six educators, 14 parents, and 15 students offered their perspectives (35 participants in all). Qualitative analysis of their interviews revealed the following themes: 1) open and frequent communication about advanced coursework helped facilitate access, especially at the high school level, 2) equitable access and support for advanced coursework was based on trusting relationships between students and educators, 3) students, parents, and educators had contrasting views of agency in the course selection and enrollment process, 4) early accelerated coursework participation was necessary to access future opportunities, particularly in math, 5) the variety of available courses was viewed as an important factor in enrollment decisions in high school, 6) participants offered different attributions for why there were still persistent demographic disparities in advanced course enrollment, which they often observed, 7) experiences in advanced coursework were informed by broader perceptions of rigor in the school, and 8) there were challenges in determining preparedness for advanced coursework.

Authors

• David Bryant Naff, Virginia Commonwealth University

• Tomika L. Ferguson, Virginia Commonwealth University

• Amy E. Jefferson, Virginia Commonwealth University

• Jenna Lenhardt, Virginia Commonwealth University

• Isaiah Moore, Virginia Commonwealth University