U.S. high schools with high student of color enrollment are less likely to offer advanced science courses than schools with low student of color enrollment¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2020 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · overdue for a recheck since 2025: baselines and conditions change

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Nationwide, 67% of schools with high student of color enrollment offer Physics, compared to 84% of schools with low student of color enrollment. → Leung 2020

Evidence¶

Leung 2020¶

Leung, M., Cardichon, J., Scott, C., & Darling-Hammond, L. (2020). Inequitable opportunity to learn: Access to advanced mathematics and science courses. Learning Policy Institute. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/crdc-course-access

q2 · i? · associational · r2

Analysis of 2017-18 CRDC data on Chemistry and Physics offerings by school quintiles of student of color enrollment. The report finds "67% of schools with high student of color enrollment offer Physics, compared to 84% of schools with low student of color enrollment."

"Schools with large numbers of students of color provide less access to advanced science courses. For example, 67% of schools with high student of color enrollment offer Physics, compared to 84% of schools with low student of color enrollment."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Race and Ethnicity — predictor: outcomes differ by group: a gap reflecting circumstances and treatment, not a cause

Related Claims¶

• U.S. high schools with high enrollments of students from low-income families are less likely to offer advanced mathematics courses than low-poverty schools — related
• U.S. high schools with high enrollments of students from low-income families are less likely to offer advanced science courses than low-poverty schools — related
• U.S. high schools with high student of color enrollment are less likely to offer advanced mathematics courses than schools with low student of color enrollment — related
• State-level disparities in advanced course access are large, with New York showing a 54-percentage-point Calculus gap between low- and high-student-of-color-enrollment schools — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Massachusetts high schools with majority-Black or majority-Latino enrollment are much less likely to offer any AP course than majority-White schools — related
• Automatic (opt-out) enrollment policies increase enrollment and success of students of color and low-income students in advanced courses, per research the brief cites — related
• Washington State's automatic-enrollment academic acceleration policy is associated with more equitable advanced course offerings, reversing the typical gap — related
• Schools serving large numbers of students of color and students from low-income families have significantly fewer resources than schools serving more affluent White students — a broader claim this one bears on