A national analysis of the effects of state policy on access and participation rates in advanced mathematics courses for students from historically marginalized groups

Advanced mathematics coursework has often been seen as a pathway to success for students. It has been found to be a predictor for college and career success, however, not all students have access to and participate in these types of courses. State policy may be one method of ensuring that all students have both access to these courses and are enrolled in an equitable manner, especially for students from historically marginalized groups. This study sought to discover how states enacted policy that may affect access to and participation in advanced mathematics courses, how access and participation rates in these courses have changed over time for students from historically marginalized groups, and if these state policies types could be used to predict access and participation rates for students from historically marginalized groups. This study identified two types of state policies, minimum graduation requirements and policies that affected Advanced Placement courses, and categorized states into clusters based on how those policies were implemented. Using national datasets that included state-, school-, and student-level information, it was found that access rates did not change much over the course of the study, however, there was a slight change in participation rates showing a higher rate of underrepresentation during the 2017-2018 school year for students from historically marginalized groups in both Calculus and Advanced Placement Mathematics courses. Differences of access and participation rates between state policy clusters suggest a possible association, but no significant claim can be made. It is also suggested that with little guidance from state policy, school districts may develop their own, leading to larger variation of both access and participation rates, sometimes leading to less equitable conditions, specifically in Calculus courses for students who are Black. The findings of this study suggest that more work is to be done and a deeper analysis can shed better light on how state policy can affect access to and participation in advanced mathematics courses for students from historically marginalized groups.