ERIC Number: EJ728970
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2004
Pages: 12
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0018-1498
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
A Critical Race Analysis of Latina/o and African American Advanced Placement Enrollment in Public High Schools
Solorzano, Daniel G.; Ornelas, Armida
High School Journal, v87 n3 p15-26 Feb-Mar 2004
Using critical race theory as a framework, this article examines the access and availability of Advanced Placement (AP) courses and how they impact educational outcomes for Latina/o and African American students. To begin thinking critically about enrollment patterns of AP courses, we ask the following questions: How do school structures, practices, and discourses help maintain racial and ethnic discrimination in access to AP courses? How do Latina/o and African American students and parents respond to the educational structures, practices, and discourses that help maintain racial and ethnic discrimination in access to AP courses? Finally, how can school reforms help end racial and ethnic discrimination in access to AP courses? In order to answer these questions, we examined a school district in California that serves a large population of Latina/o and African American students. Three different patterns emerged around access and availability of AP courses: Latina/o students are disproportionately underrepresented in AP enrollment district-wide; schools that serve urban, low-income Latina/o and African American communities have low student enrollment in AP courses; and even when Latina/o and African American students attend high schools with high numbers of students enrolled in AP courses, they are not equally represented in AP enrollment. We call this structure and process "Schools Within School."
Descriptors: Public Schools, High Schools, Hispanic American Students, African American Students, Enrollment, Outcomes of Education, Advanced Placement Programs, Critical Theory, Disproportionate Representation
University of North Carolina Press, 116 South Boundary Street, P.O. Box 2288, Chapel Hill, NC 27515-2288. Tel: 919-966-3561; Fax: 919-966-3829.
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: High Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: California
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A