Dive Brief:
- Low-income students in North Carolina who are excelling in the classroom and on exams are still missing out on an equal opportunity to benefit from advanced classes to challenge them, according to an investigation by The Charlotte Observer and The (Raleigh) News & Observer.
- Educators and administrators in districts throughout the state have tried a number of approaches to close the gap, including the expansion of magnet programs and cataloging each student’s progress, but gaps particularly persist in schools disproportionately working with disadvantaged student populations.
- Young Eisner Scholars is one non-profit organization attempting to work with such students, offering them the constant support and access to resources students from more affluent families enjoy, and the organization has expanded beyond cities like New York and Chicago to work with students in Watuga County schools.
Dive Insight:
The lack of rigorous courses available for students is not solely a problem for North Carolina schools, as a recent study found that a lack of such courses was one reason Baltimore schools remained economically segregated even when families were allowed to choose from any school in the city. The divergence in proficiency can start from a young age and has been shown to grow exponentially as options continue to be out of reach for low-income students.
Additionally, regions like North Carolina face additional challenges, as rural areas tend to have less Advanced Placement courses than are typically available in urban areas. A study found that approximately 97% of urban school districts had some students enrolled in AP classes. For rural school districts, the number with students enrolled in AP courses was only about 50%.
The news could help support the push from Education Secretary Betsy DeVos for more investment in school choice options. Supporters of more robust choices for students could argue if these districts are unable to assist students with exemplary test scores that attend schools in low-income areas, it is unlikely they are delivering for the other students within their districts. It is true that many of the school choice arguments, such as the ongoing debate regarding charter schools vs. public schools, have primarily played out in urban settings. Only about 16% of charter schools are located in rural areas, which may mean that many of the districts in North Carolina have yet to encounter the potential benefits (and pitfalls) the choice debate has brought to urban school districts.