Expanding access to rigor

Unequal participation in advanced high school courses contribute to the achievement gap, writes Sophie Quinton for The National Journal. Around the country, schools and districts are successfully expanding access. Evanston Township High in Evanston, Illinois has eliminated the honors track for ninth-grade humanities and created mixed-level classes that allow freshmen to earn honors credit through hard work. The redesign also prepares students for Advanced Placement (AP) courses and encourages enrollment. Federal Way in Washington state now automatically enrolls middle and high school students with high scores into honors, AP, International Baccalaureate (IB), or Cambridge Preparatory Academy courses. Minority enrollment in college-preparatory classes jumped 200 percent the first year. Inspired by Federal Way, in 2013 Washington state passed a law encouraging districts to enroll all students meeting state standards into rigorous courses. The law also established incentives that set aside money for teacher training, curriculum development, exam fees, and other costs districts incur by adopting a policy like Federal Way's. At Wakefield High in Arlington, Virginia, boys whose grades average a C or higher in ninth or tenth grade are now invited to join Wakefield's Cohort for Minority Males. Participants get extra academic support, college planning, and a chance to bond with each other and staff. To date, 239 cohort members have graduated Wakefield, and 87 percent have gone to college. The University of Iowa has introduced a program allowing rural Iowa high school students to take AP courses online for free. Last year, 87 percent of students taking an online course completed it, and nearly all students completing the course pass the AP test. Howard County, Maryland has redesigned its six most diverse elementary schools to try to boost achievement in both math and reading. It also examines its math course progression to ensure that small administrative decisions don't inadvertently keep students off an accelerated track. And eight high schools in California use IB to support non-native English speakers. The schools are mostly Latino, and at least 30 percent of IB program graduates qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Across these schools, educators treat bilingualism as an asset for IB. More

Source:  Public Education News Blast

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Los Angeles Education Partnership (LAEP) is an education support organization that works as a collaborative partner in high-poverty communities.