Education is constituted as an essential for all, with a promise to transform developing minds into enterprising buckets of knowledge. Media and education institutions have emphasized this for decades through the developments of the education system – one of those developments being the introduction of Advanced Placement and Honors classes. At first glance, these classes appear to be prominent and remarkable, as they encourage students to be more rigorous and stupendous academically. In addition, the classes promise to prepare students for real world aspects by teaching them responsibility, time management, and dedication. With this said, one would assume these classes are a magnificent addition to the education system. However, most people don’t understand the underlying oppression within these glasses. It is certainly not as pristine as the decades have made it seem to be. Through research and personal testimony, I have determined that inequality in Advanced Placement (AP) and Honors classes is more evident than the average individual thinks; yet, the solutions to ceasing this issue are also more evident than one realizes.
Inequality in the education system has been relevant since the earliest days of its foundation. It began with the footprint of genocide against Native children. Native children were removed from their homelands and placed into “boarding schools”. However, the term was just a facade for what really transpired in these environments. Native children were not taught anything like their white counterparts were in separate schools – they were subjected to; manual labor, forced conversion to Christianity, removal of their hair and language (and horribly chastised if they dared to speak it), removal of their culture and Indigenous names, and abuse (in many different manifestations). With that said, Native children did not learn anything but cruelty, and that carried into the modern era where children were not encouraged to learn anything. Boarding schools that held Native kids were finally abolished in the early 1990’s (Erika Tracy, ACLU of Northern CA). However, the horrors scarred the community, and those scars persist to this day with inequality in schools.
The same can be said for Black and Latino students. Both Black and Latino were hindered from pursuing an education at one point in time. During slavery, it was prohibited for Black children to learn how to read, write, or become enlightened in any way about anything. Eventually, schools for Black children would be established, but they would still be far from sufficient. Mexican and other Latino children experienced the same inequality, with most of their “schools” being in rundown buildings with the most feeble supplies. Children were also educated on the bare minimum in these segregated schools for decades. But thankfully, Brown v. The Board of Education (1954) put a stop to segregation against Black and Latino students. However, just like Indigenous children, the horrors and inequality of the past persist in today’s day and age. AP and honors classes are traditionally represented by White, Asian, and Indian students – with Black, Latino, and Indigenous students being more discouraged versus encouraged to enroll in these classes.
There’s many things that can be attributed to the reason why inequality persists in the education system of AP/Honors classes. However, the two main causes that are undoubtedly the strongest of all are ignorance and neglect; “the racial disparities in Central’s advanced classes likely perpetuate inequality between white students and students of color in the school overall, as students in advanced classes can more easily access opportunities than students in standard-level classes” (McGill para 2). People are ignorant, woefully ignorant – and therefore neglect this issue.
In order to completely diminish prejudice and inequality in AP/Honors classes, people need to do a much better job at educating themselves on the history of this country. In addition, there needs to be more resources to help BIPOC students feel encouraged and welcomed in these classes. Speaking from experience, I know how uncomfortable it feels to be the only one of your race in an advanced class. It feels like you’re an intruder, almost. I know I’m not the only one who has felt this way – and that is why it is imperative we do what we can to shatter this experience.
Any form of prejudice affects and oppresses the human mind in several ways. However, in the education system, prejudice is close to lethal. I chose that word because it emphasizes the path children are likely to go on after sustaining prejudice. If the education system is constantly implying that you are inferior, explicitly or subtly, you start to believe it and further submerge yourself in the mindset of that oppression. In addition, it persists into the future generations, with parents not encouraging their children to not enroll in accelerated level classes. I could give personal testimony for this – my family, a blend of Indigenous and Mexican, were discouraged from enrolling in these classes. That discouragement soon became a generational challenge that carried on, until I broke it. I was the first in my entire bloodline (maternally – I do not know nothing of my paternal bloodline) to ever take an AP or Honors course. Therefore, the occasional pressure of generational trauma catches up to me. However, I intend to shatter that cycle.
As society’s morals elevated with time, people began to call for change on internalized prejudices across the board – for the workplace and the education system, primarily. When the Supreme Court announced the revolutionary Brown v. Board decision, society finally recognized the cruelty of segregation and ceased the law. However, that doesn’t mean the oppression against people of color diminished too. In fact, the racism heightened in the school system. If oppressors could not racially and explicitly segregate students of color from white students, they would internalize their hate and perpetuate it through loopholes that presented themselves. One exemplification of this is the economic background of students. Advanced classes cost money (for materials, books, tests, etc.) to take and rather than schools trying to make these materials more attainable, they make them more financially difficult. In addition, white students are more likely to be approached for AP recruitment than a Black, Latino, or Indigenous student. With that said, students have begun to take notice of these traditional patterns and now advocate to shatter them. Parents have too – and this culminated into one Seattle school noticing the activism and deciding to take action about it. However, it was an improper action. It was decided that public schools in Seattle will terminate the AP and Honors programs from their curriculum (Samantha Castro, Educators 4SC).
On the evident level, it’s clear that this solution is nothing short of preposterous. Removing AP classes completely from the education system is not only absurd, but it is more oppressive than complementing. In my humble opinion, that “action” is essentially saying “you really aren’t good enough for it.” By stripping education away, knowledge is only being deprived, not equalized. In addition, it solidifies the mindset most students of color already possess – I'm not good enough for this (Sophie Quinton, The Atlantic).
Education is a value that all prospective minds deserve and it is absurd that school boards think taking it away will ameliorate the problem of underrepresentation and prejudice in the AP/Honors programs. Stripping the AP/Honors programs from schools will not only further reinforce the notion that students of color aren’t worthy enough to be involved in these types of classes, but it will simply strip everyone of the benefits these classes prevent to a flourishing mind. “While all students should have engaging courses, narrowing opportunity gaps in rigorous advanced coursework could benefit more students. The ability to earn college credit in high school can also offer students more flexibility and potential cost savings in their studies beyond high school. One study found a linkage between AP credits and a shorter time to a college degree, as well as increased likelihood of college students double majoring and taking advanced math and laboratory science college coursework” (Campbell par 6-8). This solidifies the benefits of AP coursework. These programs offer more than just knowledge, as they instill dignity, integrity, and more into enterprising young minds. It is absurd that anyone would think stripping these programs away is the solution to ameliorate inequality, when there are much more efficient ways.
There have been a few ways broached in the paper; however, one solution remains supreme: outreach. Making Advanced Placement/Honors material more accessible to all students is the best way to ameliorate inequality in these accelerated classes.
The first reason how making materials accessible to all students would ameliorate inequality in accelerated classes is because it would reduce the financial burden most colored kids experience. It is no doubt that Black, Latino, and Indigenous students descend from humble households more frequently than their White, Indian, and Asian counterparts. Therefore, these teenagers know their parents would never be able to afford things such as additional textbooks or workbooks, supplies, or the AP test itself.
Moreover, making materials and other necessities to enroll in an AP/Honors course more accessible will enable these students to be free of the financial burdens. Viktoriia Sokolenko of TOWER, conceived an exquisite article with valid points, saying, “Because of the systemic inequities in the US, Black and Hispanic students often have less access to the schools with a wide range of AP classes. The states can reduce this barrier by increasing funding to the schools in low-income districts or districts with predominantly Black or Latino populations. The data was adapted from the 2015-16 Civil Rights Data Collection and the Center for American Progress report “Closing Advanced Coursework Equity Gaps for All Students” (par 6). These points offer how funding would not only cease the financial hindrances students of color experience, but it would therefore result in more representation in the courses. In addition, this paragraph was solidified by data presented in the article, which produces a graph that shows how much accessibility each race of students has access to AP courses and materials. The numbers for Black, Latino, and Indigenous students were extremely low – therefore proving that financial hardship and low accessibility is a reason for the underrepresentation. Moreover, making materials attainable would have a profound effect on shattering the inequality in accelerated education.
The second reason why making materials more attainable to students would reduce inequality in accelerated courses is because it would actually encourage students to want to enroll in these classes. Most students of color already have their life paths cut out for them due to what they endure in their respective upbringings. Some colored kids are more fortunate to have support, but most are not encouraged to strive for the best. Moreover, when adults are not contributing to help them develop, they see it as nonsense – and therefore fall down the wrong path. In addition, it is important for me to also mention that most teachers, sadly, possess a stereotype over colored students, and see it futile to encourage them.
Elijah Goldberg was one of these students. He wanted to enroll in a precalculus course during his junior year, confident in his abilities to handle the class. He mentioned this to his guidance counselor, who did not offer Elijah support or encouragement for this endeavor. Rather, the school continued to imply that Elijah would fail and said everything they could to deter him from pursuing this goal. However, Elijah did not crack and pursued the endeavor another way. He enrolled in the same type of class at a local community college near his home. He ended up receiving an A- and returned to his school with the grade, proving the entire staff wrong about their notions (Justin Murphy and Georgie Silvarole, USA Today).
Because of the staff’s evident prejudice and discouragement, Elijah at first could not have easy access to AP materials for a precalculus course. They made it unattainable, and quite frankly, undesirable. What’s even sadder to think about is how often this happens – it’s a redundant pattern and that explains why representation is so low for colored students.
Therefore, by making materials more accessible to all students, it will encourage a student from any background to consider taking an AP/Honors class without feeling discouraged or like an odd one out. It will enable more representation and knowledge to float around campuses.
Finally, the last reason why making materials more accessible to students will eliminate inequality in accelerated courses is because students will feel sustained as people and want better for themselves.
As previously mentioned, most colored students are already dealt an unfair deck of cards in life due to their economic, familial, or personal circumstances. Therefore, when AP/Honors course materials are unattainable, it just feels like an illusion to them. A lot of colored students also harbor academic dysphoria, professing themselves to be dumb, when really that is not the case at all. In fact, most colored students haven’t delved into what they are really capable of because of the difficult accessibility to knowledge.
Moreover, in order to shatter this pattern, the best solution to follow is making materials more accessible. It will reduce financial hardships, make students feel less discouraged and unwelcomed, and shatter the dysphoria they perhaps have experienced since childhood. Most importantly, it will ameliorate the prejudice and inequality our education system possesses when it comes to Advanced Placement and Honors classes.
To conclude, inequality in the education system has been around since the beginning of time – only now has that inequality transitioned and integrated itself into the higher learning platforms of basic education. It is an issue that is still as relevant today as it was fifty years ago in the height of the Civil Rights Movement. However, it is also the most neglected. With that said, we as a society need to start paying attention to this issue and giving it the attention it deserves. Our state governments and school boards need to do a better job at enhancing the Advanced Placement and Honors programs, as well as ensuring that all students have equal opportunities to be prosperous and enterprising.
(P.S: Happy Indigenous History Month)
Worked Cited
Campbell, Neil. “Closing Advanced Coursework Equity Gaps for All Students.” Center for American Progress, 30 June. 2021, www.americanprogress.org/article/closing-advanced-coursework-equity-gaps-students/#:~:text=Strategies%20include%20removing%20biases%20and,before%20they%20get%20to%20high. Accessed 23 April 2024.
Castro, Samantha. “Seattle Plans to Get Rid of AP and Honors Classes in All of Their Public Schools.” Educators 4SC, 2 Nov. 2019, educators4sc.org/seattle-plans-to-get-rid-of-ap-and-honors-classes-in-all-of-their-public-schools/.
McGill, Jane. “The Honors Gap: How Central’s Advanced Classes Perpetuate Inequality among Students.” The Register, 22 May. 2023, https://www.omahacentralregister.com/9546/news/the-honors-gap-how-centrals-advanced-classes-perpetuate-inequality-among-students/#:~:text=The%20racial%20disparities%20in%20Central's,students%20in%20standard%2Dlevel%20classes.
Murphy, Justin, and Georgie Silvarole. “Fewer Ap Classes, Suspended More Often: Black Students Still Face Racism in Suburbs.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 8 Feb. 2019. 9 April 2024, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2019/02/04/black-history-month-february-schools-ap-racism-civil-rights/2748790002/.
Tracy, Erika. “Indian Boarding Schools - Gold Chains: The Hidden History of Slavery in California: ACLU NORCAL.” ACLU of Northern CA, 28 June 2018, www.aclunc.org/sites/goldchains/explore/indian-boarding-schools.html.
Sokolenko, Viktoriia. “How Diverse Is Your AP Class: The Equity Gaps in Advanced Classes Remain Prominent in the US.” TOWER, 1 May 2023. 11 May. 2023, https://tower.mastersny.org/12246/opinion/how-diverse-is-your-ap-class-the-equity-gaps-in-advanced-classes-remain-prominent-in-the-us/#:~:text=Because%20of%20the%20systemic%20inequities,predominantly%20Black%20or%20Latino%20population.
Quinton, Sophie. “The Race Gap in High School Honors Classes.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 11 Dec. 2014, 11 May. 2023, www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2014/12/the-race-gap-in-high-school-honors-classes/431751/.
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