The influence of the International Baccalaureate (IB) has grown impressively on a global scale. In Latin America, the IB has been mainly introduced in private schools that cater for the most affluent sectors of society and, consequently, has been mostly interpreted as contributing to processes of social reproduction and the widening of…

When it comes to Black youth, narratives about educational outcome gaps are often deficit-focused and incomplete, reifying notions of immovable racial inequities rather than uplifting evidence of students excelling when afforded the opportunities they deserve. There is a need to access data that tells a fuller and more nuanced story of students'…

This fifth of six briefs exploring data from the 2020-2021 Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) data, released earlier this year, explores the access of students with disabilities to the educational opportunities that make college possible for most students: SAT and ACT testing, Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB)…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate disproportionality with respect to Advanced Placement (AP) opportunities for students of color, post qualification, for special education services via the label Specific Learning Disability (SLD). Multiple data sources including existing data, surveys, and semi structured interviews were…

Career and Technical Education (CTE) plays a vital role in preparing students for the workforce and postsecondary success. This Spotlight explores innovative approaches to CTE, highlighting strategies for expanding access to college-level coursework and real-world learning experiences. From developing effective career pathway models to integrating…

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of Equal Opportunity Schools on high school minority achievement in Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) courses. The 48% of students in this research study were identified as minority students, which means they were identified as non-white or African American/Black,…

This study explores the extent to which student, family, peer, and school factors predict (a) whether students take "Advanced Placement®" ("AP®") courses, International Baccalaureate (IB) courses, and dual enrollment courses and (b) in models limited to course takers, how many courses they completed. Our findings, based on a…

The rise in college preparatory coursework across American high schools appears not to affect college enrollment and graduation rates. This study uses the Civil Rights Data Collection to evaluate three stages along the college preparatory pipeline: access to, enrollment in, and mastery of Advanced Placement® and International Baccalaureate®…

This report provides information about the educational experiences and opportunities of public school English learner (EL) students in the United States as compared to public school students overall during the 2017-18 school year (SY) based on analyses of two, large, federal datasets: the Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) and the Common Core of…

In recent years, the College Board and the Advanced Placement program have pushed for further equity and access for all students (College Board, 2020a). College Board is taking strides to offer students open enrollment to Advanced Placement; however, many underrepresented and low-income students are still unable to access these courses. The…

By matching International Baccalaureate (IB) and non-IB U.S. public schools based on state, grade span, and enrollment, we used recent public data to confirm relations among a hierarchy of school characteristics and whether schools made available any of IB's four programs. We fortified prior claims regarding how poverty, minority concentration,…

The Advanced Placement (AP) Program has become ubiquitous in terms of earning college credit during high school. Since the College Board incorporated it in 1956, the AP Program has grown to include 38 courses across seven subjects/categories. Recently, approximately half the states have passed legislation guaranteeing credit towards an…

Early colleges are intended to serve students from populations typically underrepresented in college and to prepare those students with the academic skills and dispositions to succeed in college. Another important attribute of early colleges is that they help students earn college credit during their high school years. Many such early colleges are…

The Advanced Placement (AP) program has become a key step on the path to attending a selective college. In the University of California system, for example, more than 90 percent of applicants take AP or honors courses in high school (Geiser and Santelices 2006). However, the College Board estimates that nearly 300,000 high school students with the…

In 2010, Evanston Township High School in suburban Chicago, Illinois, dramatically changed its freshman year for incoming students. The school detracked freshman English, history, and biology courses for the vast majority of students, thus removing barriers for historically under-represented student groups and providing greater access and…