Hidden Disparities: How Courses and Curricula Shape Opportunities in Mathematics During High School
Open accessAbstract
Efforts to promote academic achievement by increasing access to courses, especially in mathematics, may mask educational disparities if variations in curriculum are not also monitored. A multi-dimensional description of students' mathematics curricula during high school was obtained from analyses of surveys, transcripts, and textbooks collected for a nationally representative study of adolescents during the mid-1990s. Few gaps in the number of years or credits in mathematics coursework were found. However, the quantity and cognitive challenge of instructional materials in textbooks adopted for those courses differed significantly both across and within mathematics tracks. Differences in the quality of curriculum accumulating during high school were also related to parents' education level. Reducing such gaps in learning opportunities would require teachers to supplement adopted instructional materials to ensure that all students receive a high quality mathematics curriculum.
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Students who underperform in or opt out of rigorous coursework are far less likely to leave secondary school prepared for college or university or for advanced courses in college or university.
“When such students underperform in or opt out of rigorous coursework, they are far less likely to leave secondary school prepared for college or university or for advanced courses in college or university8,9.”
From A national experiment reveals where a growth mindset improves achievement (2019) · cites this paper as [9]
The ‘Course Enrollments as Opportunities to Learn’ section (page unavailable) says that mathematics course sequencing affects how far students progress in high school and that mathematics success has consequences for post-secondary schooling. The ‘Dimensions of Learning Opportunities’ section (page unavailable) also discusses undergraduates’ need for remedial courses. But the paper does not establish that students who underperform in or opt out of rigorous coursework are ‘far less likely’ to leave school prepared for college or advanced college courses. (LLM, conf=0.83)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe rigor of mathematics courses taken in high school strongly predicts later educational attainment.
“the rigor of mathematics courses taken in high school strongly predicts later educational attainment8,9”
From A national experiment reveals where a growth mindset improves achievement (2019) · cites this paper as [9]
The ‘Course Enrollments as Opportunities to Learn’ section says mathematics success has consequences for post-secondary schooling and that colleges would view graduates with different mathematics course sequences differently. But the Results examine learning opportunities during high school, not whether course rigor strongly predicts later educational attainment. (LLM, conf=0.83)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
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- Authors
- Schiller, K. S., Schmidt, W. H., Muller, C., & Houang, R. T.
- Affiliations
- State University of New York (US)
- Michigan State University (US)
- The University of Texas at Austin (US)
- Venue
- Equity & Excellence in Education
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2010-11-11
- Volume
- 43
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 414-433
- ISSN
- 1066-5684 (ISSN-L)
- 1547-3457
- PMC
- PMC3612550
- OpenAlex
- W2043347006
- Cited by
- 53
- References
- 39
- Citations by year
- 2024: 2 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 21 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 9.06
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Equity & Excellence in Education (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (P01HD031921, R01HD040428)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Education › School Choice and Performance
- Social Sciences › Education › Mathematics Education and Teaching Techniques
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Critical Race Theory in Education
- Keywords
- mathematics curriculum, educational inequality, mathematics achievement, mathematics textbooks, teaching materials, parental education, course credits, educational equity
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