Mathematics Course-Taking in Rural High Schools.

Using data from the 2005 NAEP High School Transcript Study, this paper examines the mathematics course-taking of rural high school students. Although several studies indicate rural high school students' mathematics achievement is comparable to that of students in non-rural high schools, the mathematics course-taking patterns of rural and non-rural high school graduates are not the same. The data suggest that, regardless of location, high school graduates typically earn more mathematics credits than that required for a standard diploma; however, graduates of rural high schools generally earn fewer mathematics credits than graduates from other locations. The data also suggest that, when compared to students from other locations, rural high school students tend to begin high school at a slightly lower level of mathematics and end their mathematics studies sooner, thus achieving an overall lower course-level of mathematics. Graduates from rural high schools also appear to have had substantially less access to AP mathematics courses. Mathematics educators and education researchers have an ongoing concern with students' achievement and participation in mathematics courses. Many argue that mathematical knowledge is necessary for all individuals since economic, social, and political opportunities depend on it? D? b? 99? ;? bb? ;? N? (e.g., D'Ambrosio, 199 0; Moses & Cobb , 2001; National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 2000). Yet, it is recognized that all groups of students do not have comparable access to mathematical opportunities, success in mathematics courses, or motivation for continued study of mathematics. The mathematics achievement and participation of several groups of students have received attention in the research literature. For example, studies have analyzed data from U.S. students grouped by race, ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status (Davenport, et al., 199 8; Ingels & Dalton, 2008; Lubienski, McGraw, & Strutchens, 2007; Strutchens, Lubienski, McGraw, & Westbrook, 2007). Another significant, but often overlooked, group is the nearly 10 million students attending schools in rural areas and small towns. This group consists of approximately one-fifth of U.S. school-age children (Johnson & Strange, 2007). Across high schools, students in rural areas often have experiences different from those in non-rural areas since rural schools are typically smaller in size (Beeson & Strange, 2003), less likely to offer advanced coursework (Greenberg & Teixeira, 199 8), and often farther from colleges or universities (Gibb s, 199 8). Since it is a sizable group of students, it is worthwhile to track the mathematics achievement and participation of students in rural areas to determine if they have access to and achievement in mathematics comparable to their non-rural counterparts. Purpose of the Study The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in mathematics course-taking among students in rural and non-rural locations. We report on data collected as part of the 2005 High School Transcript Study (HSTS; Shettle, et al., 2008). Specifically, the following questions guided our investigation: * Does the number of mathematics credits earned by high school students differ by school location? If so, which group of students earns more mathematics credits? * Do mathematics course-taking patterns differ for high school students by location? Do students from different locations begin their high school mathematical studies in the same course? Do they finish in the same course? In which grade do students terminate their mathematics studies? * Does access to advanced mathematics classes (i.e., Calculus, AP Statistics) differ by school location? In the next section we provide background on the mathematics achievement and participation of students in U.S. high schools. Then, we describe the data collection and methodology. Following that, we present the results of the analyses to answer the research questions. …