Report Calls Attention to Divided High School Curriculum

Academic Pathways, Preparation, and Performance: A Descriptive Overview of the Transcripts from the High School Graduating Class of 2003-04, a recently released report from the National Center for Education Statistics, sheds new light on course-taking behavior in U.S. high schools. The report finds troubling divisions between students who pursue academically challenging high school curricula and those who take a less challenging, often vocationally focused curriculum. Members of the latter group are disproportionately black, Hispanic, or American Indian, are more likely than those in the former group to come from a lower socioeconomic group, and are likely to have parents with lower levels of education. Those who pursue less challenging curricula have lower grade point averages and score lower on mathematics proficiency assessments than students who pursue academically challenging curricula.

The report focuses especially on patterns of Advanced Placement/International Baccalaureate (AP/IB) course taking and on differences between an “academic” curriculum concentration and an “occupational” concentration. It defines an academic curriculum as one that “includes a minimum of four credits of English; one credit of mathematics higher than algebra II and any two other credits in math; one science credit higher than general biology and any two other credits in science; one credit of social studies in U.S. or world history and any two other credits in social studies; and two credits in a single foreign language.” An occupational curriculum “includes at least three credits in one specific labor market preparation area, such as agriculture, business, marketing, health care, protective services, trade and industrial, technology, food service, child care, and personal and other services programs.”

FINDINGS

The High School Curriculum

• Among the high school graduating class of 2003–4, 26 percent followed an academic curriculum concentration, 15 percent followed an occupational curriculum concentration, and 3 percent followed both an academic and occupational curriculum concentration; the remainder took a general curriculum that did not meet the requirements of either.

• Forty-two percent of Asian students, 32 percent of white students, 22 percent of black students, 18 percent of Hispanic students, and 14 percent of American Indian students completed an academic curriculum.
• Thirty-seven percent of students whose parents had completed four-year degrees pursued an academic curriculum and 3 percent pursued an academic and occupational curriculum, while only 10 percent pursued an occupational curriculum. By contrast, among those whose parents had completed high school or less, only 16 percent pursued an academic curriculum, while 21 percent pursued an occupational curriculum and 3 percent pursued an academic and occupational curriculum.
• Ninety-one percent of students who pursued an academic curriculum demonstrated simple mathematical problem-solving ability, compared to only 46 percent of those who pursued an occupational curriculum; similarly, understanding of intermediate-level mathematical concepts was demonstrated by 66 percent academic-track students but only by 19 percent of occupational-track students.

AP/IB Course-Taking Patterns

• About 30 percent of the high school graduating class of 2003–4 earned credit in AP or IB courses.
• Among the graduating class of 2003–4, 53 percent of Asian students, 33 percent of white students, 25 percent of Hispanic students, 16 percent of black students, and 15 percent of American Indian students earned any credit in AP/IB courses.
• Fifty-one percent of students from the highest socioeconomic quartile completed an AP/IB course, but just 16 percent of those from the lowest socioeconomic quartile did so.
• Forty percent of students who spent four or more hours per week participating in extracurricular activities completed an AP/IB course, while only 15 percent of those who spent no time participating in such activities completed an AP/IB course.

Academic Pathways, Preparation, and Performance: A Descriptive Overview of the Transcripts from the High School Graduating Class of 2003-04 (pdf) is available for download from the U.S. Department of Education.

The high school curriculum and college readiness are central concerns of the newly released report from AAC&U’s Liberal Education and America’s Promise (LEAP) campaign, College Learning for the New Global Century. Visit LEAP online for more information about the campaign or to download (pdf) or purchase a copy of the report. The upcoming issue of Peer Review, “Student Preparation, Motivation, and Achievement,” provides additional information on college readiness, AP/IB programs, and achievement in high school and college.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Students who earn more high school course credits in academic subjects have higher grade point averages.
• Students who completed an academic curriculum had an average overall grade point average of 3.3, while those who pursued an occupational concentration had a grade point average of 2.6.
• Students who earn more course credits in academic subjects or in AP/IB courses are more likely to have high expectations for their education after high school.