Racial and Income Gaps Persist in AP and IB Enrollment

Caralee Adams:

Record numbers of high school students are participating in Advanced Placement courses and International Baccalaureate programs in hopes of being better prepared for college. But a new report from the Education Trust finds students of color and those from low-income families are less likely to enroll in these rigorous programs, even if they show the academic promise to succeed.

Finding America's Missing AP and IB Students by Christina Theokas and Reid Saaris from the Washington, D.C.-based organization notes that more students from all backgrounds are signing up for these programs, and efforts have been made to boost minority and low-income student participation, yet gaps exist. Nearly 91 percent of students attend a high school that offers AP. Those without the advanced programs tend to be rural, small, and high-poverty schools, the report says.

Each year, about 640,000 low-income students and students of color are "missing" from AP and IB participation--students who could benefit if they merely enrolled at the same rate as other students in their schools, the report says.

It is not just a matter access. About 1 million students do not attend schools that offer AP, and the authors note that only a small percentage of the gaps by race or family income can be accounted for by which schools do and do not offer the classes.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at June 7, 2013 3:01 AM
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