Racial and economic access gaps persist in U.S. high schools.
There is education inequality in America. Students of color and low-income students are consistently and systematically under-enrolled in the most academically intense high school courses. The vast majority of AP and IB programs (99 percent of those in diverse high schools) do not yet provide equal access. More than three-quarters of a million students in U.S. high schools are qualified for but are missing from AP and IB classes. These students are disproportionately students of color and/or low-income students.
Disrupting the access gap has a meaningful impact.
How does racism affect education – persistent access gaps. Access gaps continue in schools due, in part, to a harmful cycle of low expectations from educators and feelings from students that they do not belong in advanced courses. However, once these “missing” students are enrolled, they are highly capable of succeeding in AP/IB courses, and find access to those courses significant and meaningful.
AP and IB classes offer these benefits.
- College attendance and completion
- Increased subject-area career interest (e.g., calculus and engineering)
- Positive student-experience outcomes from being in AP and IB
- Course-taking is a core factor in college admissions (even more than AP exam performance)
Let’s close the AP and IB access gap together.
We have collaborated with nearly 800 schools 250 districts across 33 states and have added tens of thousands of students of color and low-income students to college readiness class enrollments.
Equal Opportunity Schools offers a high impact for a low cost.
High quality AP and IB programs already exist in most U.S. high schools, making them an extremely powerful lever for change that doesn’t require a lot of capital or overhauling legal systems and labor arrangements. We help you get students into these programs and ensure they succeed.
