The purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine the perceptions of minority students and their families in a school district located in the Mississippi Delta Region as they related to the disparate participation in advanced academic programs by ethnic and racial minority students as compared to their White/Caucasian peers. Working within…

Background: To meet the growing demand for the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce and remain competitive in the fields of science and technology over the next decade, the United States is expected to need more than 1 million additional STEM professionals. This would require an annual increase of 34% in undergraduate…

According to the National Academy of Sciences (2007a), "Without the participation of individuals of all racial/ethnic backgrounds and genders, the increasing demand for workers in STEM fields will not be met, potentially compromising the position of the United States as a global leader" (p. 1). Increasing the participation and…

Access and performance in advanced high school physics have been persistently inequitable when considering student ethnicity and gender. This quasiexperimental, observational study examined access and performance of students in four Advanced Placement (AP) Physics courses in 2018-2019: AP Physics 1 (N = 150 451), AP Physics 2 (N = 20 466), AP…

In 2018, in response to the proposed elimination of physics at a predominately Hispanic and socioeconomically disadvantaged (SED) high school, the Northern California/Nevada chapter of the AAPT investigated school demographics and their effect on physics offerings in public high schools in our region. As access was a key issue, the focus was on…

This research is comprised of a three-part examination of equity, access, achievement, and learning in precollege physics. The first study examined teacher-level and school-level predictors of student performance in physics, with a focus on isolated teachers in New York during the 2016-17 academic year. Results indicated 40% of physics teachers…

Equitable access to advanced science coursework paired with highly qualified teachers is vital to improving the performance and persistence of students in STEM, particularly students traditionally underrepresented in related fields. This dissertation explored predictors of high school physics and chemistry teacher retention, as well as…

Projections by the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (2012) point to a need for approximately one million more Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) professionals than the U.S. will be able to produce considering the current rate of STEM postsecondary degree completions (Executive Office of the President of…

This report uses statistics to examine current conditions and changes over time in education activities and outcomes for different racial/ethnic groups in the United States. This report shows that over time, students in the racial/ethnic groups of White, Black, Hispanic, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaska…

In February 2012, the College Board published The 8th Annual AP Report to the Nation. This session provides a deeper dive into key information for the United States with an emphasis on Florida, and participants hear how one school in Florida utilizes AP Potential™ to help build their AP Program. Participants also learn about AP participation and…

This report presents information about the types of courses that high school graduates in the class of 2009 took during high school, how many credits they earned, and the grades they received. Information on the relationships between high school coursetaking records and performance in mathematics and science on the National Assessment of…