Using High School Course Catalogs to Understand Student Access to Advanced English Language Arts and Math Courses

• In Event: Students' Pathways and Supports Toward College Readiness: Results From a Statewide Longitudinal Mixed-Methods Study

Abstract

Access to rigorous courses in high school is essential for college success (ACT, 2005), but low-income students and students of color take fewer demanding courses than their white and Asian counterparts (Cowan Pitre, 2014; Theokas & Saaris, 2013). The issue of inequitable access to more advanced courses requires a deeper dive into course prerequisites, policies, and other requirements. Therefore, this study uses mixed methods analyses to examine school course catalogs and school websites to identify all the available course trajectories in English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics at 42 public high schools and charter schools within one Mid-Atlantic state. The data collection procedures were guided by four main questions: 1) What academic programs are available in these schools? 2) How different are these academic programs from one another? 3) What requirements or prerequisites must students meet in order to enroll in advanced courses? and 4) How different are these academic programs in terms of GPA weights and course credits?

We discovered that some of these schools also provide academic programs other than those commonly seen in the literature – such as College Preparatory (CP), Honors Program (H), Dual Enrollment (DE), International Baccalaureate (IB), and Advanced Placement (AP). Policies and prerequisites for enrolling in more advanced programs varied by schools. For example, schools do not expect their students to only maintain good grades. For AP courses, they require their students to submit applications as well as teachers’ evaluations and recommendations. For DE courses, schools require students to get a qualifying score on the SAT or ACCUPLACER exam before they can take DE courses. These programs also have different GPA weights or course credits. If a student earns an A in CP English9, the GPA for the CP-level course is 4.0. If a student receives an A in H English9, the school will credit the student for taking a higher-level course by increasing the GPA weight to 4.5. Similarly, if a student successfully completes either an AP or DE course, the GPA weight for the AP or DE course is 5.0. The GPA weights or course credits vary by schools, but all schools reward students who take more advanced courses.

We consolidated the data gathered from the course catalogs and created interactive course trajectory models in RStudio using the collapsibleTree package to visualize all the available ELA and mathematics course trajectories at each of the 42 schools. Figure 1 illustrates an example of the ELA course trajectory model for School A. These models are designed to be used by educators, researchers, and even students and their parents to identify the strengths and shortcomings of course offerings and the impact of school policies on students’ course taking trajectories. Figure 1 confirms the rigidity of School A’s policy which prohibits students studying CP English from enrolling in Honors, DE, or AP, demonstrating the restriction that precludes students taking CPs from being challenged in more advanced courses. Highlighting such barriers is a first step toward improving access to rigorous courses.

Authors

• Chu Yi Lu, University of Delaware
  Presenting Author

• Henry May, University of Delaware
  Non-Presenting Author