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Using the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009, the association between high school exit exams and mathematics course-taking patterns is explored. Exit exams are linked to a decreased likelihood of students taking upward-bound mathematics during their four years of high school. Exit exams are also associated with fewer mathematics credits earned. However, exit exams are linked to increased likelihood of students completing Precalculus or higher, but have no discernible association with completing Algebra II or higher. Importantly, significant disparities exist in these associations, with underprivileged, underperforming students often experiencing limited access to advanced math courses due to exit exams. 

Black girls are more likely to receive in-school suspension (ISS) in comparison to their non-Black peers. However, research on the effect of in-school suspension on students’ academic achievement, specifically math achievement of Black girls, is still very limited. Mathematics is an important foundational component of science, technology, and engineering fields, which are domains in which Black girls are underrepresented. Using the nationally representative Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:2002), this study explores the relationship between in-school suspension and the highest math course completed in a multi-level analysis of 860 Black female participants from 320 high schools. Our findings revealed that in-school suspension was associated with lower mathematics course-taking. Implications for policy, practice, and research are discussed.

Using data from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002-2006, the authors investigated the effects of advanced math course taking on math achievement and college enrollment and how such effects varied by socioeconomic status and race/ethnicity. Results from propensity score matching and sensitivity analyses showed that advanced math course taking had positive effects on math achievement and college enrollment. Results also demonstrated that the effect of advanced math course taking on math achievement was greater for low socioeconomic status students than for high socioeconomic status students, but smaller for Black students than for White students. No interaction effects were found for college enrollment. Limitations, policy implications, and future research directions are discussed.

From 2006 to 2012, Florida Statute §1003.4156 required middle school students to complete electronic personal education planners (ePEPs) before promotion to ninth grade. The ePEP helped them identify programs of study and required high school coursework to accomplish their postsecondary education and career goals. During the same period Florida required completion of the ePEP, Florida's Career and Professional Education Act stimulated a rapid increase in the number of statewide high school career academies. Students with interests in STEM careers created STEM-focused ePEPs and may have enrolled in STEM career academies, which offered a unique opportunity to improve their preparedness for the STEM workforce through the integration of rigorous academic and career and technical education courses. This study examined persistence of STEM-interested (i.e., those with expressed interest in STEM careers) and STEM-capable (i.e., those who completed at least Algebra 1 in eighth grade) students (n = 11,248), including those enrolled in STEM career academies, in rigorous mathematics and science course taking in Florida public high schools in comparison with the national cohort of STEM-interested students to measure the influence of K-12 STEM education efforts in Florida. With the exception of multi-race students, we found that Rorida's STEM-capable students had lower persistence in rigorous mathematics and science course taking than students in the national cohort from ninth to eleventh grade. We also found that participation in STEM career academies did not support persistence in rigorous mathematics and science courses, a prerequisite for success in postsecondary STEM education and careers.

Recent scholarship has examined how accelerated math trajectories leading to calculus take shape during middle school. The focus of this study is on advanced math course taking during the critical yet understudied period that follows: the transition to high school. Data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 are used to examine advanced math course taking in ninth grade, including both track persistence among students who took advanced math in middle school and upward mobility among students who took standard math in middle school. Results reveal sizable racial gaps in the likelihood of staying on (and getting on) the accelerated math track, neither of which are fully explained by prior academic performance factors. Interactions with parents and teachers positively predict advanced math course taking. In some cases, interactions with teachers may also reduce inequality in track persistence, whereas interactions with counselors increase such inequality. Implications for research and policy are discussed.

Despite increases in the representation of African American and Hispanic youth in advanced math courses in high school over the past two decades, recent national reports indicate that substantial inequality in achievement remains. These inequalities can temper one's optimism about the degree to which the United States has made real progress toward educational equity. Using data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS), the authors find that the math achievement gap is most pronounced among those students who take the most demanding high school math classes, such as precalculus and calculus. The authors explore the roles of family socioeconomic status and school composition in explaining this pattern. Findings suggest that among those students reaching the advanced math high school stratum, Hispanic youth from low-income families and African American youth from segregated schools fare the worst in terms of closing the achievement gap with their white peers. The authors discuss potential explanations for the achievement differences observed and stress the need for more research that focuses explicitly on the factors that inhibit minority/majority parity at the top of the secondary curricular structure.

Objective: In community colleges, achieving competence in math is critical to students’ timely progression through coursework and eventual educational success; yet, it remains unclear when the optimal timing to complete required math courses is in order to maximize the chance of completing a credential on time. This study examines the timing of college-level math requirement fulfillment in relation to the longer term success of community college students. Method: Utilizing survey data and transcript records of 320 students from an urban community college, we performed a survival analysis to investigate how the precise academic terms in which students complete math requirements, taking into account other student behaviors, are related to credential completion. Results: Findings reveal that completing math requirements at earlier (e.g., first semester) or later (e.g., fourth or fifth semester) stages of college is related to a higher rate of credential completion. Students who engage in active learning, find academics challenging, and feel academically supported have a higher probability of completing a credential, whereas student-faculty interactions are negatively related to credential completion. Contributions: Our findings reveal that fulfilling college-level math requirements early on promises higher odds of credential completion. However, this momentum can be achieved by completing math requirements in Term 1, or it can also be delayed until Terms 4 or 5. It is thus imperative to find ways to more accurately assist community colleges and their students in planning the educational pathways, programs, and services that prevent students from stumbling over necessary math requirements and maximize overall success.

Using multilevel analysis on a sample of academic-track 12th graders in 1989, this article compares gender inequality in course taking of mathematics and sciences in Arab and Jewish high schools. The findings show that gender inequality is almost nonexistent in Arab schools, whereas it is very prominent in Jewish, particularly secular, schools. The differences in gender inequality are explained by the differences in the curriculum. In contrast with Jewish high schools that offer a rich curriculum, Arab schools offer few advanced courses in humanities and social sciences. Consequently, male and female students who wish to take advanced courses have to choose mathematics and sciences. The findings point to a sociological paradox; the poor curriculum of Arab high schools enhances the chances of Arab female students to be exposed to highly valued knowledge. These findings shed an additional light on the beneficial effect that a restricted curriculum can have for members of disadvantaged groups.