How Schools Provide Access to Advanced Courses: An Analysis of Federal, State, and District Policies

• In Event: Applied Research on Equity Issues in Schools

Abstract

Research documents enduring racial and socioeconomic inequities in advanced coursework enrollment and achievement, including gifted programs in elementary school, Algebra I in middle school, and Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), and dual enrollment (DE) courses in high school. While incongruence between the ostensive (written) and performative (practice) aspects of policies in this area is a clear perpetuator of these inequities, the ostensive policies themselves merit scrutiny. The policy analysis presented herein reviewed the federal, state, and district level policies guiding the provision of advanced coursework in six school districts participating in a researcher-practitioner partnership (RPP) with a mid-Atlantic university. Limitations at each policy level are discussed, as well as implications and opportunities for promoting greater equity in advanced coursework.

Authors

• David Bryant Naff, Virginia Commonwealth University

• Peter Willis, Virginia Commonwealth University

• Amy Jefferson, Virginia Commonwealth University

• Theo Stripling, University of Chicago Lab School

• Erica Ross, Virginia Commonwealth University

• La-Neka Brown, Virginia Commonwealth University

• Dana Rahbar-Daniels