Determinants of enrollment rates of selected ethnic groups in high school honors and advanced placement courses

Disparities in student academic performance among ethnic groups persist or are growing. School systems are attempting to reduce these disparities I but often lack necessary information about how to proceed. To inform policy, this study analyzed disparities in participation in high school Honors and Advanced Placement (HAP) courses by students from four ethnic groups. This study focused on three questions: (1) How large are disparities in HAP participation rates across ethnic groups when controlling for high aptitude? (2) When do disparities in academic performance emerge and when is the best time to intervene? (3) What are the determinants of disparities?; The study analyzed the academic records from grades 3 through 12 of 200 randomly selected high-ability students stratified by ethnic group, and interviews with 40 of these students. The main findings and conclusions were as follows. (1) Differences in the number of HAP courses taken were small and insignificant among Blacks, Whites, and Hispanics but large and significant for Asians when controlling for high aptitude. (2) Differences in academic performance among ethnic groups emerged in elementary school and became statistically significant in grades 7 and 8---suggesting that middle school is a critical time for intervention. Student interviews also indicated that middle school (grades 7 and 8) and the transition from grade 8 to 9 were key times for intervention. (3) Elementary school enrollment in above-grade-level courses mattered most for Hispanics and Blacks, less for Asians, and least for Whites in terms of participation in HAP courses in high school---suggesting that early intervention is most critical for Hispanics and Blacks. (4) As determinants of HAP enrollment, the interviews indicated that school-based (tracking and teacher recruitment), personal (confidence and motivation), and social (comfort in class) factors mattered for all students. Critical differences emerged across ethnic groups in social (comfort level, peer pressure, "acting White"), school (teacher expectations), and family (cultural issues) factors.