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Differences in Academic Preparedness Do Not Fully Explain Black–White Enrollment Disparities in Advanced High School Coursework

By on March 11, 2024 in Articles

João M. Souto-Maior, Ravi Shroff

Sociological Science March 11, 2024
10.15195/v11.a6

Abstract

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Whether racial disparities in enrollment in advanced high school coursework can be attributed to differences in prior academic preparation is a central question in sociological research and education policy. However, previous investigations face methodological limitations, for they compare race-specific enrollment rates of students after adjusting for characteristics only partially related to their academic preparedness for advanced coursework. Informed by a recently-developed statistical technique, we propose and estimate a novel measure of students’ academic preparedness and use administrative data from the New York City Department of Education to measure differences in Advanced Placement (AP) mathematics enrollment rates among similarly prepared students of different races. We find that preexisting differences in academic preparation do not fully explain the under-representation of Black students relative to White students in AP mathematics. Our results imply that achieving equal opportunities for AP enrollment not only requires equalizing earlier academic experiences, but also addressing inequities that emerge from coursework placement processes.
Creative Commons LicenseThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

João M. Souto-Maior: The Institute of Human Development and Social Change, New York University
E-mail: jms1738@nyu.edu

Ravi Shroff: Department of Applied Statistics, Social Science, and Humanities, New York University
E-mail: ravi.shroff@nyu.edu

Acknowledgements: We thank Johann Gaebler, Sharad Goel, Jongbin Jung and L’Heureux Lewis-McCoy for helpful comments and feedback. This study was conducted with data obtained through the Research Alliance for New York City Schools. The findings and conclusions are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Research Alliance.

Supplemental Material

Replication Package: See the Data and Code Availability Statement on page 158.

  • Citation: Souto-Maior, João, and Ravi Shroff. 2024. “Differences in academic preparedness do not fully explain Black-White enrollment disparities in advanced high school coursework.” Sociological Science 11: 138-163.
  • Received: October 30, 2023
  • Accepted: December 19, 2023
  • Editors: Arnout van de Rijt, Jeremy Freese
  • DOI: 10.15195/v11.a6


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High Stakes in the Classroom, High Stakes on the Street: The Effects of Community Violence on Student's Standardized Test Performance

By on May 27, 2014 in Articles

Patrick Sharkey, Amy Ellen Schwartz, Ingrid Gould Ellen, Johanna Lacoe

Sociological Science, May 27, 2014
DOI 10.15195/v1.a14

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This article examines the effect of exposure to violent crime on students’ standardized test performance among a sample of students in New York City public schools. To identify the effect of exposure to community violence on children’s test scores, we compare students exposed to an incident of violent crime on their own blockface in the week prior to the exam to students exposed in the week after the exam. The results show that such exposure to violent crime reduces performance on English language arts assessments and has no effect on math scores. The effect of exposure to violent crime is most pronounced among African Americans and reduces the passing rates of black students by approximately 3 percentage points.

Patrick Sharkey: Department of Sociology, New York University.
E-mail: Patrick.Sharkey@nyu.edu

Amy Ellen Schwartz: Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service, New York University.
E-mail: Amy.Schwartz@nyu.edu

Ingrid Gould Ellen: Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service, New York University.
E-mail: Ingrid.Ellen@nyu.edu

Johanna Lacoe: Price School of Public Policy, University of Southern California.
Email: lacoe@price.usc.edu

Supplemental Materials

  • Citation: Sharkey, Patrick, Amy Ellen Schwartz, Ingrid Gould Ellen, and Johanna Lacoe. 2014. “High stakes in the classroom, high stakes on the street: The effects of community violence on students’ standardized test performance.” Sociological Science 1: 199-220.
  • Received: October 29, 2013
  • Accepted: December 20, 2013
  • Editors: Jesper Sørensen, Stephen L. Morgan
  • DOI: 10.15195/v1.a14

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Unintended Consequences: Effects of Paternal Incarceration on Child School Readiness and Later Special Education Placement

By on April 21, 2014 in Articles

Anna R. Haskins

Sociological Science, April 21, 2014
DOI 10.15195/v1.a11

Abstract
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Though sociologists have examined how mass incarceration affects stratification, remarkably little is known about how it shapes educational disparities. Analyzing the Fragile Families Study and its rich paternal incarceration data, I ask whether black and white children with fathers who have been incarcerated are less prepared for school both cognitively and non-cognitively as a result, and whether racial and gendered disparities in incarceration help explain the persistence of similar gaps in educational outcomes and trajectories. Using a variety of estimation strategies, I show that experiencing paternal incarceration by age five is associated with lower non-cognitive school readiness. While the main effect of incarceration does not vary by race, boys with incarcerated fathers have substantially worse non-cognitive skills at school entry, impacting the likelihood of special education placement at age nine. Mass incarceration facilitates the intergenerational transmission of male behavioral disadvantage, and because of the higher exposure of black children to incarceration, it also plays a role in explaining the persistently low achievement of black boys.

Anna R Haskins: Columbia Populations Research Center, Columbia University. E-mail: ah3157@columbia.edu

 Supplemental Materials 

  • Citation: Haskins, Anna R. 2014. “Unintended Consequences: Effects of Paternal Incarceration on Child School Readiness and Later Special Education Placement.” Sociological Science 1: 141-158.
  • Received: February 3, 2014
  • Accepted: February 12, 2014
  • Editors: Jesper Sørensen, Sarah A. Soule
  • DOI: 10.15195/v1.a11

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