Where are the African American males? : enrollment criteria and African American male placement in secondary advanced placement and honors courses

Abstract

This qualitative comparative study describes AP and honors enrollment criteria at the secondary level and its relationship to the disproportionately underrepresented trends found in the enrollment of African American males by focusing on two urban high schools in the Midwest with similar demographics. Research findings indicated that student AP and honors enrollment criteria were not the problem but a lack of oversight in tracking, monitoring and responding to the trends of underrepresented subgroups in AP and honors courses for the two schools in the study, including African American males. Another finding suggested that because the majority of the staff did not reflect the demographics of the student population served, their ability to engage the students was hampered by blind spots in being culturally aware and sensitive to how students and parents were experiencing the school system. Thus, the lack of effective engagement between students, parents, and staff created a barrier to accessing the voices of those most impacted by the two high school’s AP and honors enrollment process.