National Policy Director Melodie Baker was quoted in The 74 in an article examining Opportunities Denied: High-Achieving Black and Latino Students Lack Access to Advanced Math, a brief released by Just Equations and The Education Trust.
High-achieving Black, Latino and low-income students who pass algebra in the eighth grade—a feat that can set children up for success in college and beyond—still end up taking far fewer advanced high school math courses than their White, Asian, and more affluent peers, new research shows.
While 46 percent of high-achieving Asian students, 19 percent of White students, and 29 percent of students from high socioeconomic backgrounds took college-level Advanced Placement/International Baccalaureate calculus by the end of high school, just 10 percent of Black, 15 percent of Latino, and 11 percent of lower-income high achievers did the same.
“This study challenges the notion that access to advanced math courses is purely the byproduct of talent and academic achievement,” said Baker. “Our analysis confirmed that, all too often, factors such as race, wealth, and privilege—rather than students’ aptitude and proficiency—can be hidden prerequisites for access to courses that lead to STEM and college opportunity.”
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