Will We Ever Close the Gender Gap Among Top Mathematics Achievers? Analysis of Recent Trends by Race in Advanced Placement (AP) Exams

Analyzing the test scores of more than 10,000,000 students who participated in the Advanced Placement (AP) math exams from 1997 to 2019, this study examined the direction and magnitude of the trend in gender disparity by race in participation in and top achievement on AP Calculus AB, Calculus BC, and Statistics exams. The results of this study indicated that, in general, females’ representation in all three AP exams increased significantly. Although the findings indicated that the female-to-male ratios (FMRs) in participation in the AP math exams increased significantly from 1997 to 2019 and favored females for all races, the gender disparities among top achievers for all math exams are still substantial. The relationships between the FMRs in participation and top achievement for all AP math exams were also analyzed within races, and the possible impacts of these findings within the context of the underrepresentation of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields were also discussed.

Do School Counselors Exhibit Bias in Recommending Students for Advanced Coursework?

In this paper, we seek to understand minority and female underrepresentation in advanced STEM courses in high school by investigating whether school counselors exhibit racial or gender bias during the course assignment process. Using an adapted audit study, we asked a sample of school counselors to evaluate student transcripts that were identical except for the names on the transcripts, which were varied randomly to suggestively represent a chosen race and gender combination. Our results indicate that black female students were less likely to be recommended for AP Calculus and were rated as being the least prepared. Our results have policy implications for any program that asks individuals to make recommendations that may be subject to bias – whether conscious or unconscious.

The Relationship Between Advanced Placement Mathematics Courses and Students’ STEM Career Interest

Increasing the number of students choosing a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) career is a national educational priority. One way thought to increase interest in STEM is with advanced STEM courses in high school, especially Advanced Placement (AP) courses. Using data from 15,847 college undergraduates, we investigated the relationship between participation in AP mathematics courses (AP Calculus and AP Statistics) and student career interest in STEM. After controlling for covariates, the strongest effect ( d = 0.13) showed that students who took AP Calculus had a modestly higher career interest in engineering and mathematics/computer science. However, the relationship between most AP mathematics courses and most STEM career outcomes was negligible. Most differences in outcomes between AP and non-AP students are likely due to preexisting differences between the two groups.

Reaching Deep Conceptual Understanding through Technology

Technology has been linked to increased student motivation in the twenty-first-century classroom (Rau, Gao, and Wu 2008). In addition to engaging students by using a familiar medium to present content, technology allows educators an opportunity to focus on reaching a deeper conceptual understanding. Specifically, educators teaching AP Calculus, a course designed to provide the same content as a college level calculus course, can use technology to promote understanding of material that high school standards do not mention as crucial, but are nonetheless considered fundamental and included in college textbooks. If AP students do not achieve a thorough conceptual understanding of content considered fundamental to calculus, the result may be a piecemeal view of the subject, a lessened appreciation for its applications, and a lack of preparation for postsecondary mathematics education (Bressoud 2004). Instructional technology can help teachers present material to meet the standards outlined by The College Board (2015), as well as provide students with content knowledge that will prepare them to meet collegiate expectations. When instructional technologies are used as contemporary tools and resources “aimed at deepening students' understanding of content” (Drijvers et al. 2010; Zazkis and Nunez 2015, p. 126) they can also increase deductive thinking by communicating, demonstrating, and explaining advanced conceptual material. Furthermore, instructional technology can connect with current pedagogy that emphasizes technology in education (ISTE 2008) when used as blended learning tools that teach “some fraction of the content through online sources” and implementing “non-lecture based activities” (Zazkis and Nunez 2015, p. 126). In all, the use of technology in calculus can provide a more holistic view of the mathematics without sacrificing class time needed to meet the standards.

Calculus II: The Integral and Its Applications

Calculus II: The Integral and Its Applications uniquely addresses all of the rules and applications of Integral Calculus necessary for the AP Calculus AB and BC courses. In addition, units are included on power series and convergence, and the calculus of parametric and polar equations. The material is presented in a modular format that allows great flexibility for the student and teacher. The lessons are designed to be rigorous enough for the serious student, yet user-friendly enough for the independent learner. All lessons include worked examples as well as exercises with solutions.

Calculus I: The Derivative and Its Applications

Calculus I: The Derivative and Its Applications uniquely addresses all of the rules and applications of Differential Calculus necessary for the AP Calculus AB and BC courses. The material is presented in a modular format of 90 lessons that allows maximum flexibility for the student and the teacher. Lessons begin with the precalculus topics of functions and limits, discuss the definition of the derivative and all differentiation rules, and investigate applications of the derivative including curve sketching, optimization, and differentials. The lessons are designed to be rigorous enough for the serious student, yet user-friendly enough for the independent learner. All lessons include worked examples as well as exercises with solutions.

An AP Calculus Classroom Amusement Park

In an end-of-the-year AP Calculus project, students create an amusement park ride and explore the applications to calculus concepts.

Bringing Reality into Calculus Classrooms: Mathematizing a Real-life Problem Simulated in a Virtual Environment

The study explores how students, who had completed the AP calculus course, mathematized the optimal navigation real-life problem simulated in the Second Life Virtual Environment. The particular research interest was to investigate whether/how students�?? empirical activity in VE influences the way of their mathematizing.