Indicator: Equitable placement in rigorous coursework

Why it matters

Even when schools offer rigorous coursework and other programs, students are not always equitably selected or encouraged to participate. For example, even among students with high standardized test scores, Black students are referred less often to gifted programs than other students, particularly when they are taught by non-Black teachers.  Concerns about inequitable placement extend into middle school and high school. As another example, although 80 percent of students nationwide have access to Algebra I in middle school—a gateway to higher-level math coursework in high school—just 13 percent of Latino students and 12 percent of Black students take Algebra I as 8th graders.  However, when placement policies in one district shifted from using subjective criteria to using student test scores, disparities in participation in Algebra I in 8th grade by income, race, and ethnicity were greatly reduced.  Disparities in participation in early college coursework can also reflect inequitable placement. Even in high schools that offer 18 or more Advanced Placement (AP) courses, enrollment in AP courses is significantly lower among Black, Latino, and Indigenous students than their White and Asian peers.