Using an exploratory case study approach, this study examined the school leadership factors that contribute to building Latinx student social capital as well as the best practices for creating a more equitable AP program. Through this qualitative study, the organizational and leadership factors of the AP program at Stripes High School (pseudonym)…

This book walks readers through the stages of the high school college prep pipeline that introduce interlocked structural barriers to student achievement. The author shows how these barriers reinforce segregated structures that unfairly distribute the public good of education to some students and not others. Price argues that the college prep…

Students in the United States face an increasingly competitive college admissions process. High school seniors must prove themselves capable of university level work. The standard for evidencing such capacity is through enrollment in Advanced Placement (AP) courses. Upon completion of the AP course students sit for the corresponding national exam.…

Four New Jersey school districts worked together to increase student achievement by applying a number of strategies focused on getting traditionally underrepresented students to take more AP courses. The districts are members of the New Jersey Network of Superintendents (NJNS), comprising 15 superintendents who work together to develop systemwide…

Dual credit and exam-based credit programs are increasingly popular options for high school students who hope to earn college credit during their high school career. These programs provide college-level content for students seeking a head-start on college and promote college-going among high school students. As their popularity grows, dual credit…

Advancement to postsecondary education for English language learners (ELLs) can be seriously constrained by a lack of academic preparation during high school. Currently, ELLs lag behind their non-ELL peers in their level of access to advanced college-preparatory courses. Through a qualitative case study of ELL education at a large public high…

This study explores whether students from low-income families and racial/ethnic minority groups have the opportunity to benefit in what is arguably the most rigorous type of credit-based transition program: the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP). The analyses first describe national longitudinal trends in characteristics of…

In the fall of 2009, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation funded a three-year project proposed by the International Baccalaureate (IB) to demonstrate the feasibility of increasing the participation of minority students and students in poverty in its Middle Years Programme (MYP) and Diploma Programme (DP) in selected school districts in the…

Advanced Placement[R] (AP[R]) courses provide high school students an opportunity to be exposed to the rigors of college while they are still in high school. Since school policies play a role in the opportunities for students to pursue these courses, educational leaders must be aware of the ways in which their personal beliefs and school practices…

In fall 2009, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation funded a three-year project (IB Access Project) with International Baccalaureate (IB) to increase participation of minority students and students in poverty in the Middle Years Programme (MYP) and Diploma Programme (DP). The IB Access Project seeks to do four things: (1) Improve teacher practice…