Selection Into Advanced Courses in Middle and High School Among Low-Income, Ethnically Diverse Youth

Abstract

This study assesses the excellence gap by examining those who enroll in advanced, honors, and advanced placement (AP) classes among a low-income and a majority-Latinx population. Prospective longitudinal data come from a diverse, urban sample ( N = 32,885) where 82.2% of the students received free or reduced price lunch. We examined numerous predictors (i.e., demographics, school readiness skills, prior academic competence) for eventual enrollment in an advanced course (middle school advanced, honors in middle and high school, and AP courses in high school) via multivariate logistic regression analyses. Results suggest that demographic factors (socioeconomic status, ethnicity, English-language learner status) often played a smaller role in advanced course enrollment after controlling for school-entry skills and prior academic competence with the exception of AP courses, where demographic effects persisted. Implications include targeted early intervention to get qualified students in poverty enrolled in academically advanced courses.

Early bilingualism predicts enhanced later foreign language learning in secondary school.

“…One of the strengths of our novel, prospective, 14-year longitudinal design, is that we are able to include a variety of important covariates when examining links between early language status and later FL learning. Given that (a) student school-entry cognitive and social skills are related to both speed of acquiring L2 (Winsler et al, 2014) and later academic performance (Duncan et al, 2007), (b) prior research shows links between bilingualism and cognitive abilities (Bialystok, 2007), and (c) early academic achievement is related to later elective course selection (Alegrado & Winsler, 2020; Ricciardi & Winsler, 2018; Winsler et al, 2019), and later achievement in secondary school (Soares et al, 2015), we include children’s early school readiness skills and prior (fifth grade) academic performance as covariates to address whether early language status is uniquely linked to later FL course choice and performance.…”

Reducing Excellence Gaps: A Systematic Review of Research on Equity in Advanced Education

“…All of the articles presented education settings in the United States. Two of the articles were qualitative (Renbarger & Long, 2019; Wu, Pease, & Maker, 2019), 6 were quantitative (Hodges, McIntosh, & Gentry, 2017; Little et al, 2018; Olszewski-Kubilius et al, 2017; Ricciardi, Haag-Wolf, & Winsler, 2020; Ricciardi & Winsler, 2021; Robinson et al, 2018), and 2 used mixed methods (Davis, Davis, & Mobley, 2013; Matthews & Mellom, 2012). A theme that was present across these articles was that successful frontloading requires multifaceted approaches that provide supported learning experiences, prepare students for advanced learning opportunities, create social support networks, and allow students to see their possible futures.…”

“…It was clear from the articles in the review that preteaching domain-specific content (e.g., vocabulary, processes) is important, but early intervention (e.g., Ricciardi & Winsler, 2021), sustained engagement (e.g., Olszewski-Kubilius et al, 2017), and an emphasis on developing transferable skills (e.g., problem solving, academic discourse, written communication; e.g., Faber et al, 2022; Little et al, 2018) are also critical steps in the preparation process. It was apparent that many students need advanced learning options (e.g., Peters et al, 2017) and that engagement in advanced courses can contribute to academic growth (e.g., Wai & Allen, 2019), but there were indications that psychosocial skills (e.g., self-beliefs, motivation) can further support successful engagement in advanced academic coursework, which is consistent with prior research (e.g., Rinn, 2020; Subotnik et al, 2011).…”

They Were Here: A Study on High School Students’ Engagement in Historical Empathy With a Local History Research Project

“…The demographics of the community where this study took place are representative of the student bodies of the schools that participate in the leadership program. The fact that the students who participated in this project are high-achieving and attend schools in more affluent suburban areas also highlights the issue concerning whether a local history research project such as this one could be implemented with students who attend economically disadvantaged schools where opportunities such as this leadership program may not accessible (Johnson & Larwin, 2020; Ricciardi & Winsler, 2021). Eliciting more diverse students from different communities who may be part of organizations such as non-profit leadership groups, museums, and cultural institutions in future studies may provide greater insights on how student engagement in local history research can support the demonstration of HE through community place-based projects (Pendharkar, 2022).…”