Download or read book Closing the Advanced Placement Opportunity Gap for Traditionally Underrepresented Students written by Jennifer Roberts and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Exposure to rigorous curriculum is a significant predictor of college persistence and success. Traditionally underrepresented students, those who are African American, Hispanic, and identified as economically disadvantaged often do not engage in Advance Placement (AP) courses. There are several factors that lead to decreased participation of underrepresented students in AP courses including lack of information and education of the benefits of engaging in the AP curriculum. The purpose of this study was to examine the social capital of students and the students' perceptions of their high school experiences related to college readiness. This study examined student perspectives in the areas of attitude toward college, teacher expectations and interactions, college readiness, school-wide support, and parental engagement. Additionally, student perspective was examined related to their high school experiences in terms of preparation for college and support from school faculty. Data were collected from a purposeful sample of seniors enrolled in English IV. The participants were individually matched by enrollment or non-enrollment in AP courses, gender, and ethnicity. The matched sample consisted of 123 students in AP courses and 123 students not in AP courses. Nine students participated in a focus group to obtain a deeper understanding of their high school experiences. The findings in this study show overall students in AP courses and those not in AP courses have comparable perspectives of their high school experiences as it relates to attitude toward college, teacher expectations and interactions, school wide support, and parental engagement. Only in the area of college readiness do students not enrolled in AP courses perceive they are not as prepared as their counterparts enrolled in AP courses. The focus group data revealed students felt their teachers and the College and Career Advisor were instrumental in assisting them with college planning and course selection. The students in the focus group spoke to the influence of their peers in selecting courses. The students also pointed to the importance of participating in extracurricular activities as a way to round out their high school experiences.
Download or read book Closing the Opportunity Gap written by Vijay Pendakur and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2023-07-03 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers a novel and proven approach to the retention and success of underrepresented students. It advocates a strategic approach through which an institution sets clear goals and metrics and integrates the identity support work of cultural / diversity centers with skill building through cohort activities, enabling students to successfully navigate college, graduate on time and transition to the world of work. Underlying the process is an intersectional and identity-conscious, rather than identity-centered, framework that addresses the complexity of students’ assets and needs as they encounter the unfamiliar terrain of college.In the current landscape of higher education, colleges and universities normally divide their efforts between departments and programs that explicitly work on developing students’ identities and separate departments or programs that work on retaining and graduating higher-risk students. This book contends that the gap between cultural/diversity centers and institutional retention efforts is both a missed opportunity and one that perpetuates the opportunity gap between students of color and low-income students and their peers.Identity-consciousness, the central framework of this book, differs from an identity-centric approach where the identity itself is the focus of the intervention. For example, a Latino men’s program can be developed as an identity-centered initiative if the outcomes of the program are all tied to a deeper or more complex understanding of one’s Latino-ness and/or masculinity. Alternately, this same program can be an identity-conscious student success program if it is designed from the ground up with the students’ racial and gender identities in mind, but the intended outcomes are tied to student success, such as term-to-term credit completion, yearly persistence, engagement in high-impact practices, or timely graduation.Following the introductory chapter focused on framing how we understand risk and success in the academy, the remaining chapters present programmatic interventions that have been tested and found effective for students of color, working class college students, and first-generation students. Each chapter opens with a student story to frame the problem, outlines the key research that informs the program, and offers sufficient descriptive information for staff or faculty considering implementing a similar identity-conscious intervention on their campus. The chapters conclude with a discussion of assessment, and suggested “Action Items” as starting points.
Download or read book Equity and Access written by Cole Malsky and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In recent years, the College Board and the Advanced Placement program have pushed for further equity and access for all students (College Board, 2020a). College Board is taking strides to offer students open enrollment to Advanced Placement; however, many underrepresented and low-income students are still unable to access these courses. The College Board and school districts need to continue to study strategies to help close this opportunity gap. To what extent is the College Board working to expand the AP program in private schools to serve more underrepresented students? What impact does the growth of the Advanced Placement program have on teaching and learning according to educators? What have been the challenges in terms of efficacy and access of the Advanced Placement program and what strategies have been implemented to overcome them according to educators?This mixed method study utilized both quantitative and qualitative data to understand the impact open access of the Advanced Placement program has had on teaching and learning. The researcher examined quantitative findings from a Google Form survey sent to AP teachers at five private high schools on Long Island, as well as College Board AP participation and performance data from New York State. The qualitative findings from this research were collected through one-on-one, semi-structured interviews through a video conferencing platform. Additionally, College Board publications related to equity and access were examined.Quantitative findings from the research study were significant and can be used to support the growth of the Advanced Placement program in schools. The study's findings have implications for policy-makers, administrators, and teachers. Initiatives for Advanced Placement equity and access should continue to reach underrepresented students. Additionally, open-access of the AP program is beneficial for success for all students and should be encouraged. Teachers should continue to gain support through professional development and digital resources from the College Board. A recommendation for future research is to include classroom observations in the qualitative portion of the study. Including classroom observations in the qualitative portion of the study could yield further results about classroom strategies that are successful for AP courses.
Download or read book Excellence Gaps in Education written by Jonathan A. Plucker and published by Harvard Education Press. This book was released on 2020-01-15 with total page 263 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 2017 Texas Association for Gifted and Talented Legacy Scholar Book Award 2017 National Association of Gifted Children Scholar Book of the Year Award In Excellence Gaps in Education, Jonathan A. Plucker and Scott J. Peters shine a spotlight on “excellence gaps”—the achievement gaps among subgroups of students performing at the highest levels of achievement. Much of the focus of recent education reform has been on closing gaps in achievement between students from different racial, ethnic, or socioeconomic backgrounds by bringing all students up to minimum levels of proficiency. Yet issues related to excellence gaps have been largely absent from discussions about how to improve our schools and communities. Plucker and Peters argue that these significant gaps reflect the existence of a persistent talent underclass in the United States among African American, Hispanic, Native American, and poor students, resulting in an incalculable loss of potential among our fastest growing populations. Drawing on the latest research and a wide range of national and international data, the authors outline the scope of the problem and make the case that excellence gaps should be targeted for elimination. They identify promising interventions for talent development already underway in schools and provide a detailed review of potential strategies, including universal screening, flexible grouping, targeted programs, and psychosocial interventions. Excellence Gaps in Education has the potential for changing our national conversation about equity and excellence and bringing fresh attention to the needs of high-potential students from underrepresented backgrounds.
Download or read book Underrepresentation of Students of Color in Advanced Placement and College Preparatory Classes written by and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The achievement gap, also called the opportunity gap because of its implications for predicting students' success in postsecondary education and socioeconomic status, is a complex issue with many factors contributing to the disparities between White and mainly African American, Latino and Native American students. Yet, courses and programs at the secondary level that are designed to accelerate students' college readiness such as honors and advanced placement (AP) classes, still have far too little ethnic minority students participating. Social and cultural capital factors, stigmas around students' potential for high academic achievement, tracking systems and institutionalized racism are impacting access and success of minorities in rigorous college preparatory courses in middle school and high school. This literature review explores obstacles students of color face in getting on and staying on the college track, as well as examines scaffolds and intervention programs that can provide them the support they need to thrive in today's age of rigorous assessment and standards in the public school system and onto success in 4-year postsecondary education."--leaf 4.
Download or read book Closing the Opportunity Gap written by Prudence L. Carter and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2013-04-26 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While the achievement gap has dominated policy discussions over the past two decades, relatively little attention has been paid to a gap even more at odds with American ideals: the opportunity gap. Opportunity and achievement, while inextricably connected, are very different goals. Every American will not go to college, but every American should be given a fair chance to be prepared for college. In communities across the U.S., children lack the crucial resources and opportunities, inside and outside of schools that they need if they are to reach their potential. Closing the Opportunity Gap offers accessible, research-based essays written by top experts who highlight the discrepancies that exist in our public schools, focusing on how policy decisions and life circumstances conspire to create the "opportunity gap" that leads inexorably to stark achievement gaps. They also describe sensible policies grounded in evidence that can restore and enhance opportunities. Moving beyond conventional academic discourse, Closing the Opportunity Gap will spark vital new conversations about what schools, parents, educators, and policymakers can and should do to give all children a fair chance to thrive.
Download or read book Representing underrepresented Students Including Immigrant Students in an Urban Advanced Placement U S Government Class written by Donna Lynn Sharer and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 812 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the passage of Public Law 107-110, the "No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) (2002)," public schools have been encouraged to increase the number of students participating in Advanced Placement courses, particularly "underrepresented" or "low-income and other disadvantaged students." This policy was seen as a means of increasing academic rigor and college preparation (Section 1702, 2002) for a broader spectrum of students than those who traditionally had access to these courses. More recently, the U.S. Department of Education's focus on "achievement" and closing the "achievement gaps" has included civic learning (Duncan, 2012). Simultaneously, changing U.S. demographics have increased the number of English Language Learners in schools, many with "multidimensional citizenship," (Parker, Ninomiya & Cogan, 2011). In order for "underrepresented" students to have access to college preparatory courses, these students need contact with and ownership of disciplinary and academic language and content (Echevarria, Vogt, & Short, 2010; Shanahan & Shanahan, 2008; Walqui, & Lier, 2010). Students also benefit from a citizenship education that nurtures a blended cultural, national and global identity and allegiances (Banks, 2004, 2007).
Download or read book Closing the Achievement Gap Improving Success of Low Income Minority Students in AP Programs written by Erin Marie Higgins and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 94 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This study examined how dismal passage rates on Advanced Placement Exams by low-income and minority students in urban schools might be improved by focusing on teacher development through the formation of a professional learning community of educators across content areas discussing and sharing research-based instructional strategies. A qualitative study of nine educators at one site in a large urban city who taught various AP courses for at least one year met over the course of the Spring 2015 leading up to the AP exams. Through the formation of the PLC of AP teachers, there were three major recommendations teachers had to improve the AP program: 1) Administration should include more teacher input in decision-making, 2) An "AP culture" must be built with clear expectations and buy-in from all stakeholders, and 3) Teachers want more meaningful and ongoing professional development in teaching AP to diverse learners.
Download or read book Learning in the Fast Lane written by Chester E. Finn, Jr. and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2021-05-11 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "More than three million high-school students take five million Advanced Placement exams each May, yet remarkably little is known about how this sixty-year-old, privately-run program, has become one of U.S. education's greatest successes. From its mid-century origin as a tiny option for privileged kids from posh schools, AP has also emerged as a booster rocket into college for hundreds of thousands of disadvantaged youngsters. It challenges smart kids, affects school ratings, affords rewarding classroom challenges to great teachers, tunes up entire schools, and draws vast support from philanthropists, education reformers and policymakers. AP stands as America's foremost source of college-level academics for high school pupils. Praised for its rigor and integrity, more than 22,000 schools now offer some-or many-of its thirty-eight subjects, from Latin to calculus, art to computer science. But challenges abound today, as AP faces stiffening competition (especially dual credit), curriculum wars, charges of elitism, misgivings by elite schools and universities, and the arduous work of infusing rigor into schools that lack it and academic success into young people unaccustomed to it. In today's polarized climate, can Advanced Placement maintain its lofty standards and overcome the hostility, politics and despair that have sunk so many other bold education ventures? Advanced Placement: The Unsung Success Story of American Education is a unique account-richly documented and thoroughly readable-of the AP program in all its strengths and travails, written by two of America's most respected education analysts"--
Download or read book Toward Excellence with Equity written by Ronald F. Ferguson and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For more than a decade, economist Ronald F. Ferguson has investigated the myriad factors that combine to create racial disparities in academic performance, ranging from school policies and practices to informal interactions between children and their parents and peers. Toward Excellence with Equity brings together Ferguson's most important articles and most recent thinking on these ideas. Taken together, these essays show that closing achievement gaps is more urgent today than ever before--and that dramatic success is possible. "This book issues an urgent call to action to anyone concerned about the lagging success rates among minority children in American schools and the repercussions for our country's future. Ronald Ferguson not only surveys the bleak terrain surrounding the achievement gap, but provides all of us with a road map to reach higher ground." -- Geoffrey Canada, President and CEO, Harlem Children's Zone "Toward Excellence with Equity is an important book written by one of the nation's foremost experts on education and economic development. Ronald Ferguson's pioneering work on black/white disparities in student skill levels and achievement-test scores has significant public policy implications. This book is a must-read for anyone concerned about narrowing the racial gap in educational attainment and earnings." -- William Julius Wilson, Lewis P. and Linda L. Geyser University Professor, Harvard University "This book combines high-quality research, judicious insights, brilliant speculation, and common sense to set forth strategies to reduce the achievement gap dramatically. It is particularly compelling in calling for a comprehensive social movement that will not only transform schools but establish strong communities, effective parenting, and powerful peer cultures." -- Henry M. Levin, William H. Kilpatrick Professor of Economics and Education, Teachers College, Columbia University "Ferguson conducts an authoritative review to show that disparities in academic performance can be closed by strong parental engagement and by parents working in partnership with schools around a shared vision of success for their children. The reality is that educators can't do it alone. This highly intelligent book gives policymakers, educators, and parents essential tools for closing achievement gaps between high-performing and low-performing schools." -- Susan Zelman, Superintendent of Public Instruction, Ohio Department of Education "Toward Excellence with Equity is essential reading for any businessperson who cares about the well-being of children and the future quality of the American workforce." -- Bridgette Heller, Chairman of the Executive Leadership Council and Global President of Johnson & Johnson's Baby, Kids, and Wound-Care Division Ronald F. Ferguson is the faculty cochair and director of the Achievement Gap Initiative at Harvard University and the founder and director of the Tripod Project for school improvement.
Download or read book AP written by Philip Michael Sadler and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Draws together the most recent and rigorous research on the strengths and weaknesses of the Advanced Placement program. Examines closely the differences between AP and other high school courses, as well as variations among AP courses. In-depth studies gauge the impact of AP coursework on student performance in college. Finally, researchers examine the use of AP information in college admissions. From publisher description.
Download or read book Teaching to Close the Achievement Gap for Students of Color written by Theodore S. Ransaw and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-10-08 with total page 186 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume highlights approaches to closing the achievement gap for students of color across K-12 and post-secondary schooling. It uniquely examines factors outside the classroom to consider how these influence student identity and academic performance. Teaching to Close the Achievement Gap for Students of Color offers wide-ranging chapters that explore non-curricular issues including trauma, family background, restorative justice, refugee experiences, and sport as determinants of student and teacher experiences in the classroom. Through rigorous empirical and theoretical engagement, chapters identify culturally responsive strategies for supporting students as they navigate formal and informal educational opportunities and overcome intersectional barriers to success. In particular, chapters highlight how these approaches can be nurtured through teacher education, effective educational leadership, and engagement across the wider community. This insightful collection will be of interest to researchers, scholars, and post-graduate students in the fields of teacher education, sociology of education, and educational leadership.
Download or read book School Counseling to Close Opportunity Gaps written by Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy and published by Corwin Press. This book was released on 2022-02-08 with total page 203 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Create conditions that lead to success for ALL students and confront conditions that create opportunity gaps School counselors can play a powerful role in closing opportunity gaps and addressing the social, emotional, and academic needs of students. This new edition of a groundbreaking bestseller shows school counselors how to incorporate principles of social justice, antiracism, equity, and advocacy into their practice. Written by Cheryl Holcomb-McCoy, university professor and advocate of transformational change in school counseling, this book addresses the reasons why some students are more likely to encounter challenges at school due to racism, sexism, heterosexism, and classism. It includes: Vignettes, strategies, activities, and reflective individual and group study questions A framework for how school counselors can mitigate the impact of negative factors that hamper academic performance and healthy development, especially among students of color Six functions of school counselors that move schools toward more just practices and, ultimately, to higher test scores and increased student achievement Written for both preservice and in-service school counselors and those who support them, this essential guide prepares readers to take an active role in creating equitable conditions for success for all students.
Download or read book Adjustment Experiences and Ethnic Identity Attitudes Among High School Students in Advanced Academic Programs written by Tiffany Michelle Hall and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Closing the Achievement Gap written by Belinda Williams and published by ASCD. This book was released on 1996 with total page 213 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Chapters in this book, based on the efforts of the Urban Education National Network Task Force, define the nature of obstacles to the academic performance of urban students and identify, validate, and disseminate a knowledge base of theory and practice to inform decision making about urban schools. The chapters are: (1) "The Nature of the Achievement Gap: The Call for a Vision To Guide Change" (Belinda Williams); (2) "Bridging the Achievement Gap in Urban Schools: Reducing Educational Segregation and Advancing Resilience-Promoting Strategies" (Margaret C. Wang and John A. Kovach); (3) "Cultural Values in Learning and Education" (Patricia Marks Greenfield, Catherine Raeff, and Blanca Quiroz); (4) "Educating Teachers To Close the Achievement Gap: Issues of Pedagogy, Knowledge, and Teacher Preparation" (Kenneth M. Zeichner); (5) "Closing the Achievement Gap: Opportunity To Learn, Standards, and Assessment" (Floraline Ingram Stevens); (6) "Fostering Resiliency in Urban Schools" (Bonnie Benard); (7) "Teacher Engagement and Real Reform in Urban Schools" (Karen Seashore Louis and BetsAnn Smith); and (8) "A Social Vision for Urban Education: Focused, Comprehensive, and Integrated Change" (Belinda Williams). An appendix lists the Regional Educational Laboratories. Most chapters contain references. (Contains one figure.) (SLD)
Download or read book Keeping Track written by Jeannie Oakes and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2005-05-10 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Selected by the American School Board Journal as a “Must Read” book when it was first published and named one of 60 “Books of the Century” by the University of South Carolina Museum of Education for its influence on American education, this provocative, carefully documented work shows how tracking—the system of grouping students for instruction on the basis of ability—reflects the class and racial inequalities of American society and helps to perpetuate them. For this new edition, Jeannie Oakes has added a new Preface and a new final chapter in which she discusses the “tracking wars” of the last twenty years, wars in which Keeping Track has played a central role. From reviews of the first edition:“Should be read by anyone who wishes to improve schools.”—M. Donald Thomas, American School Board Journal“[This] engaging [book] . . . has had an influence on educational thought and policy that few works of social science ever achieve.”—Tom Loveless in The Tracking Wars“Should be read by teachers, administrators, school board members, and parents.”—Georgia Lewis, Childhood Education“Valuable. . . . No one interested in the topic can afford not to attend to it.”—Kenneth A. Strike, Teachers College Record
Download or read book The Toolbox Revisited written by Clifford Adelman and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Toolbox Revisited is a data essay that follows a nationally representative cohort of students from high school into postsecondary education, and asks what aspects of their formal schooling contribute to completing a bachelor's degree by their mid-20s. The universe of students is confined to those who attended a four-year college at any time, thus including students who started out in other types of institutions, particularly community colleges.
