Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Although the black-white achievement gap has been narrowing, test scores are not the only source of an educational gap between black and white students. Differences between black and white students exist in opportunities to learn in the form of high school course taking. Following the institutional perspective, I argue that placement of students in advanced math courses is the result of queuing within the school. I use ELS to examine the role of race in high school course taking and find that black students’ likelihood of having taken advanced math courses depends on the racial composition of the school. The higher percent minority within a school, the higher the probability a black student will be in advanced math courses.