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…

Dual enrollment, which allows high school students to take college courses and earn college credits, is an important way to expand educational opportunities, improve economic mobility, and meet California's workforce needs (Education Commission of the States 2019). However, historically it has been accessible only to high-achieving students taking…

These are the appendices for the report, "Improving College Access and Success through Dual Enrollment." Dual enrollment, which allows high school students to take college courses and earn college credits, is an important way to expand educational opportunities, improve economic mobility, and meet California's workforce needs (Education…

The purpose of this study was to explore the achievement perceptions of African American high school males, as related to California's Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). Although the LCFF was designed to improve equity in school funding, there is grave potential for the needs of African American students to go unmet. Pearson's correlations with…

Early college high school models are designed to encourage and assist traditionally underrepresented groups of students- low income, Latino, and African-American- to persist in and graduate from high school while earning college credit. Some of the models target high school dropouts, with the aim of helping them acquire the education and training…

This paper argues for a radical restructuring of education for grades 11-14--by erasing the arbitrary dividing line between high school and college--to open opportunities for the learners the current systems leave behind. The authors make the case for an entirely new type of institution--neither high school nor college--designed specifically to…

English Learners (ELs) represent critical mass of K-12 students in public schools across the nation. However, states have failed to improve EL student academic outcomes, including college readiness. In 2013, California altered its school funding policy, providing additional support for English learners. Drawing on Vertical Equity and a Critical…

Business leaders in California cannot find the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) talent they need to stay competitive. Students' lagging performance in K-12 is a critical reason why. The good news is that the nation's most effective STEM education programs can help turn the tide. California students have made some progress in…

In the Shattering Expectations series, the reports focus on calling attention to gaps at the high end of achievement and shattering expectations about the achievement of our low-income students and students of color that have existed for far too long. Each report will provide examples of schools that are breaking long entrenched patterns and how…

The purpose of this qualitative, explanatory multiple-case study was to examine the perceptions of staff members at two Southern California high schools as they related to the disparate participation in advanced academic programs by ethnic and racial minority and economically disadvantaged students as compared to their White and economically…

A study examined Chicano/Latino access to advanced placement (AP) high school classes. Data from a large California school district indicate that Latinos are underrepresented in AP classes; schools that serve urban, low-income, Latino/a communities have low AP enrollment; and even when they attend high schools with high AP enrollment, Latinos are…

Analysis by researchers of the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute (TRPI) on Advanced Placement (AP) courses in California public high schools in the mid-1990s concluded that although high school AP programs offered talented youngsters the opportunity to stretch their mental horizons and preview the challenges of college-level coursework, the programs…