Abstract
In this chapter, the researcher discusses a study from the United States in which the subjective nature of criteria used for advanced course selection by middle school administrators and core content teachers is evaluated. The use of arbitrary factors by educators in decisions related to moving students into advanced courses disproportionately excludes African American students and other marginalized student groups from upper level course-taking opportunities when compared to Caucasian students. The unequal access for African American students to enter advanced courses limits the operational citizenship of these students and increases opportunity gaps, attainment gaps, and achievement gaps within public education systems. In order to narrow the distance between Caucasian students' opportunities and achievement and those of African American students, middle school educators must commit to eliminating the use of subjective criteria in all course placement decisions.
TopIntroduction
Tracking practices in public or state-sponsored educational settings at all learning levels is not a new phenomenon within academic institutions both in the United States and around the world (Hanushek & Wöβssmann, 2006). In the United States, academic opportunity gaps, resulting from a wide range of academic tracking (e.g., various advanced courses, higher level courses, honors courses, upper level courses, college track courses), now exist among African American, Caucasian, and Hispanic student groups as a result of tracking policies that have been in existence since the mid-1960s. Advanced courses are disproportionately filled with Caucasian students, leaving less opportunity for students from marginalized groups to gain entry into such courses (Lewis & Diamond, 2015; Tyson, 2011). Similarly, South Africa’s state-managed school system contrived the practice of separating Black South African students from White South African students during apartheid (Macha & Kadakia, 2017). Black South Africans’ limited educational opportunities as compared to White South African students, even after apartheid, is comparable to the African American disparities which are seen in public schools in the United States since the desegregation era (Walker & Archung, 2003).
Other examples of school programs that limit the opportunities of minority student groups are found in European school systems. In Europe, Roma and Traveller children attend lower quality schools and are disproportionately enrolled in lower level educational programs (Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, 2017), which also parallels the academic issues that faced many African American students in the United States during the rise of the Civil Rights Movement of the mid-1950s through the late 1960s. The opportunity gaps for African American students in the United States, like Black students in South African and Roma and Traveller students in Europe, continue to plague a disproportionate number of students who fall into these marginalized groups, while tracking programs persist into 2020 educational landscapes.
Middle school aged children (ages 10-14) are particularly negatively affected by tracking practices that result in the denial of equitable access to advanced educational programs because of their proximity to high school years (Archbald & Farley-Ripple, 2012; Tyson, 2011). Although limiting the opportunities of African American, Black, Roma, Traveller, and other marginalized student groups at any level of education in any country is detrimental to these students’ academic futures, impeding student access to higher level courses at the middle juncture of students’ academic journeys creates positional handicaps for excluded students (Chambers, 2009). These handicaps then affect a student’s ability to position themselves in proper academic courses for an appropriate level of preparation, creating a foundational hurdle that is difficult for students to overcome once in high school (Lewis & Diamond, 2015).
Due to the similarities of school experiences among Black students in South Africa, educational limitations experienced by Roma and Traveller students in Europe, and the disproportionately low number of African American students placed in advanced courses in the United States, the focus in this chapter is on various selection criteria used by teachers and administrators in choosing students for advanced course matriculation in core content classes (e.g., language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies). Although the European and South African school programs continue to limit equitable student access for all students, this chapter presents evidence of systematic rejection of the rightful access to advanced courses of certain students in the United States. The chapter also highlights how the limiting of equitable African American student representation in advanced middle school courses inhibits positive academic experiences and opportunities for African American students in the United States. From this examination of unequal academic opportunity in the United States, the reader may consider the parallels of the detrimental effects on marginalized student groups within United States, European, and South African school systems.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Advanced Courses: Classes that typically offer higher levels of academic rigor, a more challenging curriculum, and higher expectations than standard grade level courses. In middle school, these may be referred to as honors courses; at the high school level, the terms may include honors level, Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and Dual Enrollment courses.
Disparities: In the context of this research, underrepresentation of African American students who are represented in advanced courses compared to the total number of African American students enrolled in a school population. Caucasian students are often overrepresented in advanced course when considering the number of enrolled Caucasian students within a student body.
Opportunity Gaps: The separation between the academic opportunities provided to African American students throughout their educational journeys and the opportunities afforded to Caucasian students during the same time frame.
Operational Citizenship: The framework that shapes the idea that all members of an organization are afforded equitable rights, privileges, and access. Restrictions and barriers limit the full operational citizenship potential of a member.
Middle School: Grade 6 through Grade 8, situated in the same building, follows elementary school, and precedes high school. Middle school students range in age from 11 to 14 years.
Marginalized Students: Students who are systematically denied equitable access to the same opportunities theoretically available to all students.
Caucasian Students: Students who identify as Caucasian, White, or European American, according to official school enrollment data.
Criteria: Factors used or considered by teachers and administrators for recommending students for advanced course placement. Examples may include but are not limited to work ethic, standardized tests, academic grades, motivation, ability, and behavior.
African American Students: Students who identify as African American or Black, according to official school enrollment data.
Tracking: Assigning of students to different levels of course-taking based on criteria required for entrance into upper tracks (e.g., advanced courses). Tracking proponents claim the practice serves to better differentiate learning for higher performing students.
Socioeconomic Status: Amount of income and societal positioning a family holds. Affluent families have higher socioeconomic status while indigent families have lower socioeconomic status.