The Fractured College Prep Pipeline: Hoarding Opportunities to Learn

This book walks readers through the stages of the high school college prep pipeline that introduce interlocked structural barriers to student achievement. The author shows how these barriers reinforce segregated structures that unfairly distribute the public good of education to some students and not others. Price argues that the college prep pipeline of Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate coursework in American high schools constitutes a new form of tracking in the 21st century. Even further, this new tracking introduces a façade of “college readiness” that veils the unequal learning opportunities that send some students out into the college world with pockets full of counterfeit credentials that serve only to reinforce the historically oppressive system. Whether intentional or not, this new form of tracking is embedded in schools across the United States and has lifetime consequences for individual students that reinforce historical racial, ethnic, and spatial inequalities. Book Features: Follows all the stages in the college prep pipeline, from access to curriculum to participation in classes to demonstration of mastery of the course content. Provides a more valid measure of quality by using the national tests of College Board Advanced Placement to compare the learning outcomes of students enrolled in the same classes across the nation. Uses Arizona, Florida, Michigan, and North Carolina as case studies that exemplify the variation in practice and policy across the United States. Compares public districts to charter high schools, showing how the rise in school choice policies hinders integration efforts.

Table of Contents:
Contents Prelude vi Acknowledgments vii 1. Introduction 1 21st-Century Education Policy, In Brief 2 Interlude: Words, Terminology, and Language Use 4 Contribution 9 Summary of Chapters 9 2. A Simmering Problem 11 with Kristi Donaldson College and Career Readiness = College for All 13 From High School “College For All” Expectation to Actually going to College 14 The Puzzle 18 Theoretical Framework 20 Methods 23 Case Studies: Four “Spotlight States” 26 3. The Landscape of College-Preparatory Curriculum in American High Schools 31 American High School Landscape 31 Spotlight States: High School Landscape 38 College-Prep Curriculum Landscape 42 The College-Preparatory Pipeline 47 Spotlight States: The AP and IB Landscape 48 4. The Foundation of Access to Opportunity 50 Historical Background on Access to Curriculum 50 District Access in the United States 51 District Resources: Concentration vs. Dilution 53 Unequal Consequences for Students Without Access 58 Summary: Stage 1 of the Pipeline 60 Spotlight States: How Does Access Work Within States? 61 Conclusion 66 5. In the Pipeline: Participating in AP and IB Courses 68 Brief Background on Curriculum Tracking 69 Student Enrollment in Schools with AP or IB Courses 70 Tracked-Out: No-CP Schools 71 AP and IB Participation in the United States 74 Concentration vs. Dilution of Curricula 76 Inside the Classrooms 78 Tracked-in: CP-Specialty Schools 80 Concentration vs. Dilution: Impact on Participation Rates 85 Summary: Stage 2 of the Pipeline 86 Spotlight States: How Does Participation Work Within States? 89 Conclusion 93 6. The Last Stage of the Pipeline: Passing the Exams 95 U.S. History on Testing Knowledge: States’ Rights 96 AP Exams 97 Summary: Stage 3 of the Pipeline 110 Spotlight States: How Does AP Testing Work Within States? 112 Conclusion 115 7. College-Prep Credentials: Who Gets Nothing, Who Gets Swindled, and Who Gets the Real Quality 117 Segregated Learning 120 New to the Educational Marketplace: The Counterfeit Credential 127 Research Implications 128 Reflection 130 Conclusion 130 8. Implications and Thoughts on Moving Forward 132 How Did We Get Here? 133 Data Analysis and Social Structures 134 College Admissions 136 Policies on the Horizon 136 Students and Families 138 Conclusion 139 Notes 140 References 144 Index 161 About the Author 168