Examining equity and opportunity within Advanced Placement programs using the lens of social justice

Using the social justice lens, this study aimed to provide clarity on the impact of leadership on college readiness in an urban school environment. This researcher investigated what leadership characteristics, accountability practices and what teachers and leaders within an urban school in Chicago are doing to increase college readiness for their minority population. Also, the researcher examined the impact that leadership has on college readiness programs including the Advanced Placement program within the school. While the findings were inconsistent, the tenets of social justice premediated the ethos of this setting and established that equity can occur with vision and fortitude. The implications for practice for all high schools are important.

Rigor restricted: Unequal participation in advanced placement

Although participation in Advanced Placement programs has been expanding rapidly across the United States, participation among marginalized students generally, and boys of color in particular, has remained lower than for other students. In his observations at an urban high school, Suneal Kolluri found that, if they were going to put in the work required in these classes, Black and Latino boys needed to feel connected to the teachers and the curriculum. Some signed up for AP classes because they liked the teachers, but when they got the impression that those teachers didn’t believe in them, they disengaged. In addition, they didn’t see the value of the content presented in AP classes. Although teachers and counselors tried to motivate them by explaining that it would prepare them for college, the students were unconvinced that they needed this help.