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.”

Increasing advanced diploma rates did not mean overall graduation rates suffered.

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. 4 th grade math will be used as an example; but trends are similar for 4 th grade reading and 8 th grade reading and math

Progress at the low end: Over time, race and income gaps at the below basic level have been narrowing. NAEP, 4 th 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 low- end. In 4 th and 8 th grades, gaps at the 10 th percentile are larger than gaps at the 90 th 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.

© 2011 THE EDUCATION TRUST So, what schools and students are reached?

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

© 2011 THE EDUCATION TRUST Which students are enrolling in these rigorous classes?

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%).

© 2011 THE EDUCATION TRUST 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.

Actions for Educators 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 long- term solution. Examine school data, begin honest conversations and set goals. Actions for Policy 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, Copies of the reports previewed today are available at To learn from other advocates and educators (like John Capozzi), join us for The Education Trust’s National Conference, on October 24 th -25 th in Baltimore, MD at Renaissance Harborplace Hotel