State policy package to expand equitable access to advanced coursework: credit transparency, automatic enrollment with opt-out, fee removal, disaggregated data reporting, and belonging supports¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 1 claim (1 for) · 1 study (1 review), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 1 claim rests on one study

Description¶

The brief recommends that Massachusetts require public higher education institutions to be "transparent and consistent in awarding college credit" (e.g., Bills S.838 and H.1280, barring minimum score requirements above 3 without stated reasoning), expand course eligibility via automatic enrollment with family opt-out based on multiple measures, eliminate AP exam fee barriers, report enrollment data separated by course type and disaggregated by race and ethnicity, and invest in recruiting AP teachers of color, near-peer mentors, culturally sustaining curricula, and targeted supports such as AP Bootcamps.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• State leader commitment to collect and analyze disaggregated participation and outcomes data and enact targeted, data-informed policies

Constraints¶

• The brief notes the free-and-reduced-price lunch program is an imperfect eligibility indicator and that a required form can itself act as a barrier to fee subsidies

Target Learners¶

• Black and Latino high school students
• students from low-income backgrounds
• English learners

Target Learning Goals¶

• equitable access to and success in advanced coursework (AP, IB, dual enrollment) and college credit attainment

Claims¶

• Years of science study in high school are directly related to college entrance exam achievement, and Hispanic and Black students complete advanced science courses at smaller rates [+W]

Related Strategies¶

• Adopt automatic-enrollment policies that default students into higher-level math based on prior achievement or demonstrated proficiency
• Automatically enroll high-performing sixth graders in advanced math, with parent opt-out, to circumvent educator bias in referral
• State leaders should eliminate dual credit fees for all students and strengthen automatic enrollment policy implementation
• Adopt automatic enrollment and open enrollment policies for advanced courses to expand equitable access
• Equitable access to rigorous and culturally sustaining curricula, including automatic advanced-coursework enrollment
• Use multiple measures, not single test cut scores, to determine eligibility for dual credit courses
• Adopt automatic (opt-out) enrollment policies placing qualifying students in advanced coursework
• Automatic enrollment into advanced coursework with an opt-out option
• Disaggregate all higher education data by race and income to reveal which student groups have which opportunities and outcomes

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Kristen Hengtgen and Hector Biaggi. (2024). Increasing Access to Advanced Coursework. The Education Trust. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED641974