Transcript Shattering Expectations: Breaking the Glass Ceiling of

Shattering Expectations:
Breaking the Glass Ceiling of
Achievement
National Achievement Trends and AP Access
Iris Maria Chavez, The Education Trust
June 20, 2013
• Examine national and state-specific
achievement trends to better understand
where we’ve come from and where we need
to go to move the needle on equity
– Overview of Breaking the Glass Ceiling
• Consider AP course-taking as a strategy for
mitigating gaps at the high-end achievement
– Overview of Finding America’s Missing AP/IB
Students
Elmont Memorial High School,
New York State
• 1,907 students, Grades 7-12:
– 78% black
– 12% Hispanic
– 8% Asian
– 2% white
– 29% FRL
John Capozzi on Advanced Diplomas: “Why
should a minority school only be at 31%? I don’t
want to feed into that.”
Graduates with Advanced Diplomas, Elmont vs. the State
60%
50%
Percent of Graduates
47%
40%
38%
32%
Elmont
30%
31%
New York State
20%
10%
0%
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
Increasing advanced diploma rates did not mean
overall graduation rates suffered.
Percentage of 2007 Freshmen Graduating in Four Years
4 Year Cohort Graduation Rates, 2011, by Group, Elmont vs. the State
100%
97%
95%
94%
90%
80%
93%
89%
81%
74%
70%
64%
58%
60%
58%
50%
Elmont
40%
New York
30%
20%
10%
0%
Overall
African American
Latino
Economically
Disadvantaged
Not Economically
Disadvantaged
Elmont’s dual focus on mastering grade
level standards for all student and striving
for excellence is rare.
• Efforts to close the achievement gap too often
focus solely on the lowest performing students.
– While this strategy is an important one, it overlooks
large numbers of middle- and high-achieving
students of color and low-income students, who are
out of the academic red zone, but not being asked
to reach the same levels of excellence as their white
and higher-income peers.
Data from the National Assessment of
Educational Progress (NAEP) help us
understand the progress we’ve made as a
country at the low- and high-ends of the
achievement spectrum.
4th grade math will be used as an
example; but trends are similar for
4th grade reading and 8th grade
reading and math
Progress at the low end: Over time, race and income
gaps at the below basic level have been narrowing.
NAEP, 4th Grade Math, Percent Below Basic, Public School Students, by Race
We see the same trend for both low and
higher income students.
Progress for some at the high end: Race and income
gaps have grown at the advanced level.
Widening race gaps at the advanced level have
been pronounced among higher-income students.
State trends sometimes mirror national trends,
and sometimes do not. Ex: Oregon
Note: State data available by request
These trends at “advanced” don’t mean progress is not
occurring at the high-end of the spectrum.
Nor do they mean we have solved the problem at the lowend. In 4th and 8th grades, gaps at the 10th percentile are
larger than gaps at the 90th percentile.
Major Takeaways
#1: Achievement gaps exist all along the achievement spectrum
(i.e. they are not the product of uniformly high achievement
among some groups vs. uniformly low achievement among
others).
#2: Advanced rates among white and higher-income students
have been rising over time, whereas advanced rates among
students of color and low-income students have been
stagnating or rising at a much slower pace.
#3: We’ve made some progress boosting the achievement of
high-performing students of color and low-income students,
but not enough for them to be equally represented at the most
advanced level of performance.
#4: Gaps remain largest at the low end of the spectrum,
validating a sustained focus on catching up our lowest
performing students.
Finding America’s Missing
AP/IB Students
AP/IB course-taking is one strategy to
produce high level achievement.
• AP/IB programs offer rigorous, college aligned
courses to high school students across a variety of
subjects.
– An externally graded exam helps maintain high
standards.
• Significant program expansion has occurred in the
last decade to reach under served students.
– Investment by federal, state governments, as well
as the private sector to expand opportunity.
So, what schools and students are
reached?
© 2011 THE EDUCATION TRUST
71% of American HSs offer AP classes, serving 91%
of the high school student population
Most students are reached
equitably.
–
–
–
–
–
97% of Asian students
91% of White students
89% of Black students
91% of Hispanic students
76% of American Indian
students
– 91% of FRL students
– 93% of non-FRL students
Size, geography and poverty
impact school access
– 44% of small schools
– 87% of medium schools
– 99% of large schools
– 59 of rural schools
– 86% of suburban schools
– 74% of urban schools
– 84% of Low poverty
schools
– 70% of Mid-poverty
schools
– 61% of HP schools
Which students are enrolling in
these rigorous classes?
© 2011 THE EDUCATION TRUST
Participation in the AP program tends to be a small part of the student body;
slightly more than 1 in 10 students participates. Clearly, some subgroups are
more likely to participate, including Asian and middle and high income
students. White students participate at the average and low-income, black
and American Indian students are the least likely to participate; slightly more
than 1 in 20 students. Gaps represent large numbers of students.
The school by school
analysis unmasks some
of the differences that
exist among schools
that the national
analysis does not reveal.
Participation rates vary
widely across schools. A
number of schools have
no missing students.
If within school gaps
were closed, the
national missing student
Hispanic and Black gap
would close completely
and the Low-Income
missing student gap
would nearly close
(90%).
Preparation is part of the problem, but
data suggests many students don’t
enroll that do have the potential to be
successful.
72% of black students, 66% of Hispanic students
and 75% of American Indian students had PSAT
scores that indicated they had the potential to be
successful in an AP math course and didn’t enroll.
© 2011 THE EDUCATION TRUST
Some schools are disrupting the
high-end opportunity gap.
247 of 5,000 schools that had >20 students in
AP and were diverse economically and
ethnically had no missing students.
Federal Way Public Schools in Washington
made AP be an opt-out program rather than
opt in.
© 2011 THE EDUCATION TRUST
Actions for Educators
Actions for Policy
• Audit entry requirements.
• Examine student and
teacher knowledge about
AP/IB classes.
• Consider student and
faculty perceptions of who
is appropriate for
advanced classes.
• Address the preparation
gap as part of the longterm solution.
• Examine school data,
begin honest
conversations and set
goals.
• Be vocal about gaps at the
high end.
• Make sure all high school
students have access.
• Ensure grant programs
focus on equitable
participation as well as
program expansion.
• Publically report
participation and success
rates by student group.
• Identify diverse schools
and districts that have
narrowed or eliminated
gaps and create
opportunities for others to
learn from them.
For more information
• Feel free to reach out to:
– Iris Maria Chavez, [email protected]
• Copies of the reports previewed today are
available at www.edtrust.org
• To learn from other advocates and
educators (like John Capozzi), join us for
The Education Trust’s National Conference,
on October 24th-25th in Baltimore, MD at
Renaissance Harborplace Hotel