Advanced Placement and Equity: A Case Study of Two Suburban School Districts

Abstract

This case study mapped patterns of disproportionality in Advanced Placement (AP) access, enrollment, and completion for systemically excluded students through secondary data analysis of the Civil Rights Data Collection (2015–6), and documents the degree of segregation within two diverse school districts. Although there was relatively robust overall AP course availability in both school districts, access and degree of racial segregation varied widely within the school districts. Findings establish disproportionality in AP enrollment and completion rates for Black and Latinx students. Such findings demonstrate the need for more research in regard to AP enrollment and completion for systemically excluded students.