K-12 Education: Public High Schools with More Students in Poverty and Smaller Schools Provide Fewer Academic Offerings to Prepare for College
Released: 2018-10-26T00:00:00


Highlights: section_title: Why GAO Did This Study
paragraphs: Poverty can have a profound effect on academic outcomes and college readiness and students from low-income families are less likely to go to college. The low rates of degree attainment for low-income students raises questions about whether the students who wish to pursue higher education have access to courses that support their readiness for college. GAO was asked to review college preparatory course offerings in U.S. high schools.

This report (1) examines the extent to which high schools of different poverty levels offer courses to prepare students academically for college, and (2) describes the challenges students in high-poverty schools face being prepared to attend college. GAO analyzed 2015-16 Education data on course offerings by school poverty level, type, and size, and developed a generalized linear regression model to explore whether certain school-level characteristics may be associated with course offerings; reviewed a generalizable sample of public 4-year college websites for course requirements for admission; and interviewed officials from Education and the Department of Justice. GAO also conducted site visits to 12 high-poverty high schools in 3 states selected to provide variation in course offerings, among other things. In this review, GAO focused on public 4-year colleges because they offer a bachelor's degree and are generally a more affordable 4-year option.

section_title: What GAO Found
paragraphs: Students in relatively poor and small schools had less access to high school courses that help prepare them for college, according to GAO's analysis of Department of Education (Education) data for school year 2015-16 (the most recent available). While most public high schools, regardless of poverty level, offered courses like algebra and biology, disparities in access were associated with school poverty level for more advanced courses like calculus, physics, and those that may allow students to earn college credit, like Advanced Placement (AP) courses (see figure). High-poverty schools were less likely to offer the math and science courses that most public 4-year colleges expect students to take in high school, according to GAO's analysis of college websites. GAO's regression analysis also showed that smaller schools and certain types of schools, like charter schools, are less likely to offer the college preparatory math or science courses that many colleges look for during the admissions process.

Officials GAO interviewed in selected high-poverty high schools said their students can face a number of complex challenges in preparing for college. For instance, officials said that many students are academically behind when they enter high school and are unable to progress to more advanced courses. Further, high-poverty schools may not offer rigorous courses, such as AP courses, due to lack of resources or teaching staff. Students in high-poverty schools also face other stressors that can make going to college challenging. Officials at 9 of the 12 schools GAO visited cited the effects of poverty on their students, such as homelessness, hunger, and trauma, that make preparing for college difficult. School officials also said the steps involved in applying to and enrolling in college can be difficult to navigate for many students in high-poverty schools. Officials in selected schools reported efforts to address these challenges, such as offering free college courses and obtaining outside supports to assist with college advising.

section_title: Letter
paragraphs: Students from low-income families earn bachelor’s degrees at rates that  are significantly lower than their more affluent peers. This is concerning  because higher levels of education are associated with higher lifetime  earnings, and a bachelor’s degree, in particular, can be a powerful tool for  lifting individuals out of poverty. One study found that among individuals  who started out in the lowest 20 percent income group, those earning a  college degree were over four times more likely to move to the highest  income group than those who did not finish college. Similarly, another  study found that adults with a bachelor’s degree or higher are more likely  to report that they are at least doing okay financially than those with a  high school degree or less. Not all students are interested in pursuing a  4-year college degree. However, the low rates of degree attainment for  low-income students raises questions about whether the students who  wish to pursue higher education have access to courses that support their  admission to college.

You asked us to review the spectrum of college preparatory course  offerings available in high-poverty schools and challenges students in  these schools face preparing for college. Specifically, we (1) examined  the extent to which high schools of different poverty levels offer courses  to prepare students academically for college, and (2) described  challenges that students in high-poverty schools face in being prepared to  attend college.

To determine the extent to which schools offer courses to prepare  students academically for college, we analyzed U.S. Department of  Education (Education) data on course offerings, among other things, on  the nation’s public schools. Specifically, we analyzed data from  Education’s school year 2015-16, the most recent available, Civil Rights  Data Collection (CRDC), which collects data on course offerings in  schools, among other things, such as characteristics of students  attending schools (e.g., race, sex, disability), school type (e.g., traditional,  charter), and school size. To explore whether course offerings varied by  level of school poverty, we matched schools in the CRDC to the same  schools in another Education data collection, the Common Core of Data  (CCD), which contains information on the percentage of students in a  school eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, for school year 2015-16,  and sorted them into poverty quartiles. To understand the interplay of  poverty and race, we further analyzed the student demographics of  schools in these poverty quartiles. In addition, this descriptive analysis  also examined the variation in course offerings by school size, type, and  locale. Both the CRDC and CCD are school-level data collections of K-12  public schools. We determined these data were sufficiently reliable for the  purposes of this report by reviewing documentation, conducting electronic  testing, and interviewing Education officials.

Colleges often look for students to have taken certain courses or a  sequence of courses in preparation for college. To test whether offering  certain courses or sequences of courses were associated with school  characteristics, like its poverty level, we conducted an additional analysis  using Education’s data. Specifically, we used a generalized linear  regression with a logistic regression model to test whether a school  offering: at least three math courses (algebra I, geometry, and algebra II);  at least three science courses (biology, chemistry, and physics); and any  Advanced Placement (AP) courses was associated with particular school  characteristics, like poverty, while controlling for other school  characteristics, like school size and demographic makeup. Similarly, we  conducted a separate regression for individual course offerings (algebra I,  calculus, biology, etc.). By controlling for other related school  characteristics that might also be associated with offering a given course  or sequence of courses, the model tests whether an association with a  particular school characteristic of interest, such as poverty, remains when  controlling for other related school characteristics. To better understand  the courses that colleges expect students to take in high school, we  reviewed the academic admission criteria posted on the websites of a  nationally-representative random sample of public 4-year colleges in the  Unites States. We focused on public 4-year colleges because these  institutions offer a bachelor’s degree and are generally a more affordable  4-year option because they often offer lower tuition to in-state residents.

To gather information on the challenges students in high-poverty schools  face in being prepared for college, we conducted site visits to 12 high  schools: 4 schools in each of 3 states (California, Georgia, and  Wisconsin). We selected high-poverty schools that provided us with a  range in the numbers of different types of math, science, and AP courses  offered. We also selected high schools that provided variation in size,  school type, and location. At each of the 12 high schools, we interviewed  the principal and other key leadership staff, and high school counselors.  We interviewed by phone state educational agency officials in each of the  three states, as well as school district officials for most of the high schools  we visited. For each state, we also interviewed college admission officials  representing at least one public, 4-year college, and representatives of  college advising organizations. In selecting the states in our review, we  considered variation in state policies on college readiness and geographic  diversity.

We conducted this performance audit from May 2017 to October 2018 in  accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.  Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain  sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our  findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that  the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and  conclusions based on our audit objectives. See appendix I for more  information on our objectives, scope, and methodology.
subsections: section_title: Background
subsections: section_title: Poverty in U.S. High Schools
paragraphs: Poverty can adversely affect academic and other outcomes in profound  ways. Specifically, living in poverty is linked with negative conditions for  children at home, in schools, and in neighborhoods and communities, and  can include substandard housing, homelessness, inadequate nutrition  and food insecurity, inadequate home-based child care, increased health  care costs, and unsafe neighborhoods. Poverty has a particularly  adverse effect on the academic outcomes of children that starts in early  childhood and continues through the academic pipeline. Chronic stress  associated with living in poverty has been shown to adversely affect  children’s concentration and memory which may impact their ability to  learn. Census data from 2014 show a relationship between the rate at  which students dropped out (left school without obtaining a high school  credential) and family income. The dropout rate of students from high- income families was 2.8 percent, while the dropout rate for individuals  from low-income families was 11.6 percent.

Our prior work describes how the nation’s schools have become  increasingly comprised of students in poverty. In school year 2015-16,  of the 12.5 million students in public high schools (schools with grades 9- 12), over 5 million (40 percent) attended schools where at least half of the  students were experiencing poverty, as indicated by eligibility for free or  reduced-priced lunch. Nearly 1.8 million (over 14 percent) attended  schools where at least three-quarters of the students were experiencing  poverty (see table 1).

Our prior work has also discussed the association between poverty and  race or ethnicity. High schools with a relatively large proportion of  students in poverty also tend to have a higher proportion of minority  students, students with disabilities, and English learners. The link  between racial and ethnic minorities and poverty is long-standing, and  studies have noted concerns about this segment of the population that  falls at the intersection of poverty and minority status in schools and how  this affects their access to quality education.

section_title: Characteristics of U.S. High Schools and the College Preparation Process
paragraphs: Of the roughly 12.5 million students who were enrolled in public high  schools during the 2015-16 school year, about 87 percent attended  traditional public schools, according to Education data; the remaining  students were enrolled at charters, magnets, and other types of public  schools (see table 2).

While not all students will decide to pursue college, those who do  generally must prepare for and navigate the college admissions process  while in high school. This process can involve multiple administrative and  financial steps, according to information from Education and college  advising organizations. (See figure 2 for more information on the college  application and admissions process.)

section_title: U.S. Department of Education College Readiness Initiatives
paragraphs: The Department of Education plays a role in helping students be  prepared for college through initiatives in several of its offices. For  example, Education’s Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE)  administers several discretionary grant programs designed to increase  college readiness among students from disadvantaged backgrounds,  such as the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate  Programs (GEAR UP). GEAR UP aims to increase the number of low- income students who are prepared to enter and succeed in  postsecondary education. In 2016, OPE awarded approximately $323  million in grants through GEAR UP. In addition, Education’s Office of  Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE) provides grants and  technical assistance to states and districts to encourage advanced course  opportunities and college and career readiness initiatives. OESE also  oversees states’ and districts’ use of Title I, Part A funds under the  Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended. These funds  provide financial assistance to school districts and schools with high  numbers or high percentages of children from low-income families to help  ensure that all children meet challenging state academic standards, and  can be used to provide additional courses and college readiness  programs in schools. Finally, Education’s Office of Federal Student Aid  (FSA) is responsible for managing the student financial assistance  programs authorized under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965.  These programs provide grants, loans, and work-study funds to students  attending college or career school. FSA also publishes guidance and  other resources related to federal student aid and college costs. These  resources are designed for students and parents who are navigating the  college application and financial aid processes. (For more information on  Education’s grant programs relevant to college readiness, see appendix  II.)

section_title: Federal Efforts to Promote Equitable Access to Educational Resources
paragraphs: Education and the Department of Justice (Justice) promote equitable  access to education resources as part of their missions in two key ways:  (1) conducting investigations of discrimination complaints; (2) issuing  guidance on ways to address potential disparities; and (3) providing  technical assistance. Education and Justice are responsible for  enforcing a number of civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination in public  schools on the basis of race, sex, disability, color, and national origin.  (For examples of cases resolved by Education and Justice related to  access to college preparation resources, see appendix IV.)

To enforce relevant civil rights laws, Education carries out complaint- driven and agency-initiated investigations, which are called compliance  reviews and which target problems that Education has determined are  particularly acute. For example, in a recent review, Education’s OCR  reviewed whether Black students in a Virginia school district had the  same access to educational opportunities as other students. OCR found a  significant disparity between the numbers of Black and White high school  students who take AP, advanced courses, and dual credit programs.  These discrimination cases can be resolved through several means,  including voluntary resolution, dismissal, or closure due to insufficient  evidence. Education may also terminate federal funds if Education  determines that a recipient is in violation of civil rights laws and the  agency is unable to reach agreement with the parties involved.

Justice has the authority to file suit in federal court to enforce the civil  rights of students in public education. Specifically, Justice investigates  discrimination in school resources based on complaints filed under  federal civil rights laws and monitors and enforces open federal school  desegregation orders where Justice is a party to the litigation. For  example, in 2015 Justice entered into a court-approved agreement with a  Louisiana city school board after finding that more college preparatory  courses were offered in schools that predominantly serve White students  than in schools that predominately serve Black students. This agreement  required, among other things, that the district ensure that all students  were given the opportunity to take all courses offered in the district.

In addition to enforcement actions, Education and Justice help promote  equitable access to education resources by issuing guidance and  providing technical assistance. For example, in 2014, OCR issued  guidance addressing equitable access to educational resources, in part,  to address chronic and widespread racial disparities in access to rigorous  courses, academic programs, and extracurricular activities which can  hinder the education of students of color. In this guidance, OCR describes  proactive ways to address potential disparities in academic and  extracurricular programs that are differentiated based on academic rigor  (e.g., gifted and talented or college preparatory programs) or content  (e.g., business, music, art, or career and technical education programs).  This guidance includes the following steps that states and school districts  can take to help ensure equal access to educational resources: designating an employee to review policies governing how resources  are distributed to and within schools; evaluating resource access across and within schools; notifying parents, students, and community members of avenues to  raise concerns about resource access; and  taking proactive steps to identify disparities in access to resources.

Education also offers technical assistance, through various means, such  as conducting webinars, sponsoring and presenting at conferences, and  disseminating resource guides to schools and school districts.

section_title: High-Poverty Schools Offer Fewer of the Courses That Prepare Students for Public 4- Year College
paragraphs: At a Glance: Student Access to College Preparation Courses and  Admissions Expectations

Poverty and Student Demographics

Schools with the highest concentration of poor students were  predominantly comprised of Black and Hispanic students.

Access to more advanced math and science courses (e.g.,  calculus and physics) decreased as the level of school poverty  increased.

Larger high schools offered more advanced math and science  courses than smaller schools, regardless of poverty level.

Charter schools offered fewer advanced math and science  courses than traditional and magnet schools, regardless of  poverty level.

Public 4-year colleges generally expect applicants to have  completed three or four math and three or four science credits  in high school, but we found that the percentage of schools  offering these recommended courses decreased as poverty  level increased.
subsections: section_title: High-Poverty High Schools Largely Comprised of Black and Hispanic Students
paragraphs: Our analysis of Education data for school year 2015-16 showed that high- poverty high schools were predominately comprised of Black and  Hispanic students, while low -poverty schools had a higher proportion of  White students. Specifically, roughly 80 percent of students attending  high-poverty schools were either Black or Hispanic, but were less than 20  percent of students enrolled in low-poverty schools (see fig. 3).

section_title: Access to Advanced High School Courses Varies Based on School Poverty Level, Size, and Type
subsections: section_title: Poverty Level
paragraphs: Our analysis of Education data for school year 2015-16 showed that  students’ access to more advanced high school courses decreased as  the level of school poverty increased. High-poverty schools represented  17 percent of all high schools in 2015-16.

College Admissions Perspective  Admissions officials from all four public, 4- year universities we interviewed reported that  they look for students to take advanced  coursework in high school in order to be more  competitive applicants.  Some college admissions officials and college  advising organizations reported that students  face academic difficulties when they get to  college if they did not take advanced courses  that help prepare for the rigor of college.  A college admissions official we interviewed  reported that over 90 percent of the  university’s incoming freshmen took courses  in high school that could earn college credit,  such as Advanced Placement (AP),  International Baccalaureate (IB), or dual  enrollment courses.

Across all poverty levels, almost all schools offered the basic math  courses (algebra I and geometry); however, disparities in offering  advanced math courses grew as school poverty level increased (see fig.  4). For calculus in particular, the percentage of schools offering the  course decreased as school poverty level increased, with the gap  between low- and high-poverty schools widening to nearly 35 percentage  points (85 percent of low-poverty schools versus about 50 percent of  high-poverty schools). Generally, a similar pattern emerged for science  courses. Again, the majority of all schools, at least 90 percent across all  poverty levels, offered biology; but for chemistry and physics, disparities  grew as poverty increased. For example, almost 90 percent of low- poverty schools offered physics, with the percentage decreasing steadily  to 62 percent for high-poverty schools.

For courses that allow students to earn college credit and that can help  make students more competitive applicants (see text box), our analysis  showed a similar trend, with disparities that deepened as school poverty  increased. For Advanced Placement (AP) courses overall, our analysis  showed that the gap in courses offered was widest between the lowest  and highest poverty schools—with over 80 percent of low-poverty schools  offering at least one AP course compared to about 60 percent of high- poverty schools. We found a similar pattern for AP math and science  courses. Among schools that offered any AP courses, nearly all low- poverty schools offered AP math compared to 75 percent of high-poverty  schools, a nearly 20 percentage point gap (see fig. 5).

Advanced Placement courses:  Upon successful completion of the course and  a standardized AP exam, a student may be  qualified to receive college credit and/or  placement into advanced college courses.  International Baccalaureate courses:  The International Baccalaureate (IB) courses  are designed as an academically challenging  and balanced program of education, with final  examinations, that prepares students, usually  aged 16 to 19, for success in college.  Dual Enrollment/Credit programs:  Dual enrollment/dual credit programs provide  opportunities for high school students to take  college-level courses offered by colleges, and  earn concurrent credit toward a high school  diploma and a college degree while still in  high school.

Across all poverty levels, larger public high schools offered more  advanced math and science courses than smaller schools, according to  our analysis of Education’s school year 2015-16 data. As illustrated in  figure 7, this pattern held true for all math and science courses. In  particular, among high-poverty schools, 90 percent of large schools  offered calculus, compared to 54 percent and 11 percent of medium and  small schools, respectively. Similarly, among high-poverty schools, over  90 percent of large schools offered physics compared to about two-thirds  of medium and about a third of small schools.

A similar pattern was evident for AP courses (see fig. 8). Among high- poverty schools, 97 percent of large schools offered AP courses  compared to 68 percent of medium and 11 percent of small schools.

Across all poverty levels, access to advanced courses differed by school  type. We found that, in general, fewer charter schools, across all poverty  levels, offered math, science, and AP courses, compared to traditional  and magnet schools, according to our analysis of Education’s school  year 2015-16 data (see fig. 9). Further, a higher percentage of magnet  schools offered advanced courses (such as physics and AP courses),  compared to traditional schools. We also analyzed alternative schools  and special education schools. When analyzing Education’s data by  school type, these schools had the lowest percentage of schools offering  college preparatory courses. We focused our analyses in the body of the  report on traditional, magnet, and charter schools, the school types with  larger enrollments. Alternative and special education schools enroll fewer  than 1.5 percent of high school students. See appendix V for full data  tables, which include breakouts for alternative and special education  schools.

For AP courses, across all poverty levels, a lower percentage of charter  schools offered these courses compared to traditional and magnet  schools (see fig. 10). In particular, among high-poverty schools, 33  percent of charter schools offered any AP courses compared to 71  percent of traditional and 94 percent of magnet schools.

We also analyzed high school course offerings based on whether schools  were located in an urban, suburban, or rural location, but our regression  model did not find a consistent association between school locale and  course offerings. For example, a lower percentage of high-poverty  schools in rural areas offered advanced math and science courses  compared to high-poverty urban or suburban schools. However, a higher  percentage of low-poverty rural schools offered advanced math and  science courses than did low-poverty urban schools. For full results by  school locale, see appendix V.

section_title: High-Poverty Schools Were Less Likely to Offer Math and Science Courses Needed for College Admission
paragraphs: Colleges often look for students to have completed multiple credits of a  subject in high school, such as math or science; however, our analysis  suggests that some high-poverty schools may not offer the math and  science courses needed to meet basic admission expectations for public  4-year colleges. Based on our analysis of a generalizable sample of U.S.  public 4-year college websites, an estimated 95 percent of colleges  expected applicants to have completed three or four credits of math (see  text box). Further, a majority of public 4-year colleges specifically  recommended that applicants take algebra I, geometry, and algebra II.  With respect to science an estimated 76 percent of colleges expected  students to have completed three or four credits of science, with many  specifically recommending biology, chemistry, or physics. (See fig. 11).

Our analysis of Education data for school year 2015-16, however, found  that the percentage of schools offering these recommended math and  science courses decreased as poverty level increased. With respect to  math courses, 7 percent of low-poverty schools did not offer the  recommended math courses (at least algebra I, geometry, and algebra II),  compared to 17 percent of high-poverty schools that did not offer these  courses. Further, while 12 percent of low-poverty schools did not offer the  recommended science courses (at least biology, chemistry, and physics),  41 percent of high-poverty schools did not. (See fig. 12).

Odds of offering at least algebra I,  geometry, and algebra II  Generally, no statistically   significant association.

Odds of offering at least biology,  chemistry, and physics  Higher poverty schools were  associated with lower odds of  offering these courses compared   to lower poverty schools.

Odds of offering   any AP courses  Higher poverty schools were  generally associated with lower   odds of offering any AP courses,  compared to lower poverty schools.
subsections: section_title: Race
paragraphs: Higher levels of Hispanic or Asian  students were associated with   lower odds of offering these  courses.

Higher levels of Black, Hispanic,   or American Indian/Alaskan Native  students were associated with lower  odds of offering these courses.

Generally, no statistically   significant association.

section_title: School Size
paragraphs: Smaller schools were associated  with lower odds of offering these  courses, compared to larger  schools.

Smaller schools are associated   with lower odds of offering these  courses, compared to larger  schools.

Smaller schools were associated  with lower odds of offering AP  courses, compared to larger   schools.

section_title: School Type
paragraphs: Alternative schools were   associated with lower odds of  offering these courses compared   to traditional schools; however,   the results were not statistically  significant for other school types.

Charter schools and alternative  schools were associated with   lower odds of offering these   courses compared to traditional  schools.

Charter schools were associated  with lower odds of offering any AP  courses and magnet schools were  associated with higher odds of  offering any AP courses, compared  to traditional schools.

section_title: Officials from All 12 High-Poverty Schools Stated That Their Students Face Multiple, Complex Challenges to Prepare for College, and Some Had Efforts in Place to Help
subsections: section_title: Students in High-Poverty Schools Confront Complex Challenges to Prepare for College
paragraphs: Across the three selected states, officials representing the 12 high- poverty schools we visited consistently reported that students confront  multiple challenges to being prepared to attend college. They cited a  range of academic roadblocks to college, including that students are  behind academically before they get to high school; that the schools they  attend lack rigorous courses, such as AP courses; and that students  struggle to attain grade point averages (GPA) high enough for admission  to some 4-year colleges. Officials explained that family challenges and  obligations can compound the academic challenges and make navigating  the college admissions and enrollment process difficult for their students.

Students have not made sufficient academic progress to be admitted to  college, according to officials we interviewed at 12 high-poverty schools  (see fig. 13). Officials representing most of these schools (10 of 12)  reported that their students were often academically behind. For example,  at one urban and predominantly Black Wisconsin high school, officials  said that 80 percent of 9th graders were performing below grade-level  targets for reading and math, and at a Georgia high school where nearly  all of the students were eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, officials  said that over 30 percent of freshman students in school year 2016-17  had to repeat the 9th grade.

Insufficient academic progress can be compounded by challenges high- poverty schools face in offering advanced coursework. For example,  officials at five schools said they did not offer calculus; officials at three of  these schools noted this was because most students typically did not take  algebra I in middle school and, therefore, did not have the time to  progress to calculus. Officials at a high school with over 900 students  reported they did not offer calculus or AP math courses due to low  student demand and that they must weigh the cost of providing a course  with the number of students who would benefit. Two high-poverty high  schools we visited that did not offer calculus courses were exploring  offering the courses to students through videoconference. However, an  official from one school district we interviewed said the district uses  videoconference as a last resort because they have found students learn  better with a teacher physically present allowing for more exchange of  dialogue. In addition, the challenge of finding and retaining high-quality  teachers can exacerbate the difficulties high-poverty schools face in  offering advanced courses, according to state educational agency officials  in two of the states we visited. Offering advanced courses is important to  providing challenging opportunities for students and avoiding remedial  coursework once in college, according to college and high school officials  we interviewed. Officials we interviewed stressed that taking advanced  courses provides students with challenging academic opportunities that  help to prepare students for the rigor of college courses, whether they  pass their AP exams or not. A representative of a college advising  organization said that while it is possible to get into college without  higher-level math courses, these courses often determine if a student  needs remedial math in college. Officials from two college advising  organizations said that when students are required to take remedial  courses in college, it can have a detrimental effect. They said remedial  courses generally cost money but do not provide credits towards  graduation and can delay graduation, and sometimes can contribute to  students leaving college without a degree.

School officials for almost all the schools we visited (11 of 12) also said  that students often had low GPAs and SAT or ACT scores, which made  them less competitive applicants for admission or scholarships to 4-year  colleges. For example, the average GPA for 11th grade students at three  Wisconsin high schools we visited was below 2.0; officials at one school  told us that last year’s valedictorian had a 3.0 GPA. Further, officials at  multiple schools said students feared they would not do well on the ACTs  or SATs; and one counselor said this means that many students did not  even try. Low GPAs and college entrance exam scores may be a  particularly acute roadblock to 4-year college in areas where the state  university system has grown increasingly competitive due to high  demand, according to a counselor at one predominantly Hispanic  California high school who said the state system is looking for students  with 4.0 GPAs.
subsections: section_title: Difficult Life Circumstances
paragraphs: In addition to insufficient academic progress, a confluence of family,  financial, and social-emotional challenges often confronts students in  high-poverty schools, making it difficult for them to prepare for college,  according to our interviews with school officials (see fig. 14).

School and state education officials said that a range of stressors can  compound the difficulties poor students face with learning and academic  achievement. Officials at most of the schools (9 of 12) we visited and one  state educational agency cited adverse conditions associated with  poverty––such as hunger, homelessness, living in foster care, witnessing  or experiencing violence or abuse—that made it hard for students to  focus on school work. In one high school, officials reported that a school  staff member handed out care packages to students every Friday to  ensure students had something to eat on the weekend. Officials also  reported that students demonstrated behavioral and emotional issues in  their schools. Officials at one Wisconsin school said they have noticed a  large increase in anxiety among students. This anxiety can be paralyzing  for some students and, for others, can result in explosive and violent  behavior that affects other students’ ability to learn, according to the  school officials.

Officials in 11 of the high-poverty schools we visited said that going to  college often conflicts with a student’s need to help support their families  or that the cost of college can be prohibitive. Some students provide an  important source of income for their family or are the caregiver for family  members, according to officials in nine schools. Family obligations can  also affect students’ decisions about whether to take college preparation  courses, according to one school administrator. For example, the  principal of a California charter school said a high-performing student  dropped an AP course because the demands from family were so great.  In addition, officials in six schools said that the cost of college can deter  low-income students. One of these officials reported that even with  financial aid and scholarships, their students may not be able to cover  even small gaps in funding. According to one high school counselor, the  cost of going to college plus the practicalities of getting to and from school  and figuring out how to pay for meals during breaks if dorms or the  cafeteria are closed, are concerns for low-income students.

Parents struggling with poverty may not expect their children to go to  college, according to college advising officials and officials at most  schools (10 of 12) we visited. For example, officials at one Georgia high  school said that many students are aiming to be the first in the family to  graduate high school (first generation high school graduates), and do not  prioritize college. Similarly, at another school, officials said parents and  students do not have the expectation of going to college because the  parents had not been to college themselves. Students from high-poverty  schools may continue to harbor low expectations upon admission to  college because they feel they do not belong, according to a principal and  a college advising official. In addition, first generation students usually do  not have the family support and knowledge to feel confident in their  abilities to navigate college life, as a college admissions official noted.  School officials at one high school we visited said their students, who  attend high school in a highly segregated area, have felt overwhelmed  and intimidated trying to transition to a college with a predominately white  student population.

section_title: Barriers to Navigating College Processes
paragraphs: A variety of factors—from the availability of high school counselors to  taking college entrance exams—can make the college admissions and  enrollment processes difficult for students in high-poverty schools,  according to school, college, and college advising organizations in the  communities we visited (see fig. 15).

College admission officials in two of the states we visited noted the  importance of the high school counselor in navigating the college  admissions process, such as taking students to college fairs and building  relationships with colleges. However, counselors often face high  caseloads and competing priorities, such as getting kids to graduate and  handling emotional and social issues, according to multiple school  officials and local college advising organizations. In one rural school we  visited, one counselor handled the needs of about 400 students and was  also the bus driver and occasional substitute nurse. Taking the SAT and  ACT exams can also pose challenges for students. For example,  according to administrators at one school, the cost of the exams may be a  deterrent. At another high school, counselors noted that students may  lack transportation to the test site and, at another school, officials said  weekend jobs kept students from taking the tests.

Applying for financial aid can also be challenging for students from high- poverty schools, according to school and college advising organization  officials. At six of the schools we visited, officials said that sometimes  parents are reluctant to report their income, because they are  undocumented or because the process is unfamiliar. In addition, some  school officials told us that even families with legal immigration status can  be reluctant to submit personal information to government websites  because they distrust how the information will be used. College advising  officials we interviewed in two states said that complicated family financial  situations, such as when a student cannot obtain income information from  a parent, can also make the financial aid process difficult. In addition,  officials from two college advising organizations said that financial aid  award packages can be difficult to understand. For instance, they said  that these packages may not clearly explain what amount the student is  responsible for paying. Further, the aid letters may not indicate the  additional cost associated with room and board, books, and  transportation, according to one of these officials.

Finally, even after a student has been admitted to college, they still may  experience obstacles before classes begin, according to our interviews.  Four officials reported that lack of college advisement over the summer  after high school graduation has led to “summer melt,” when students do  not attend college as planned. Officials from a college advising  organization said that sometimes students missed a step in the  enrollment process, such as paying deposits or tuition balances before  the semester begins.

section_title: Some High-Poverty Schools Are Trying to Ease Roadblocks to College
paragraphs: Officials representing selected state educational agencies, school  districts, and high-poverty schools we visited reported that they try to  mitigate the barriers students in high-poverty schools face in being  prepared to attend a 4-year college, despite resource challenges.

Free access to college courses. Providing students with free access to  college courses was one way some states and schools have been able to  help students prepare for college. For example, Georgia’s dual enrollment  program allows high school students to earn college credit for free while  working on their high school diploma. The program covers tuition,  mandatory fees, and books. Administrators at a Georgia high school  reported that the program has allowed some students to earn an  associate’s degree upon graduation from high school, helping to ease the  cost burden of college. A charter school we visited in California partners  with local colleges and covers tuition, text books, and transportation for  college courses. The school principal said that the school does not offer  calculus, but students can take it at a local community college and  receive college credit.

Outside supports for college advising. In Georgia, officials from a  college advising organization reported helping with the college admission  process in selected schools, including registering students to take the  ACT or SAT, organizing college visits, helping students research  colleges, and helping students and parents apply for financial aid. They  also said they used text messages as a way to reach out to students and  remind them to complete certain steps in the enrollment process. In  addition, officials from half of the schools we visited (6 of 12) reported  their schools had, or previously had, federal grants that supported college  readiness activities for disadvantaged students. For example, one  Wisconsin high school where most students are eligible for free or  reduced-priced lunch (90 percent) and are Black (82 percent) or Hispanic  (14 percent) had a GEAR UP grant that supported students in the classes  of 2017 and 2018 since middle school, according to the school  administrators.

Strategies to exhibit a college-going culture. To help encourage  students to consider college as a possibility, officials at some high-poverty  schools we visited reported using strategies to exhibit a “college-going  culture” within the school. For example, based on our site visit interviews  and observations, schools displayed college banners; opened college and  career counseling centers; provided incentives, such as prizes, to  complete financial aid applications; and posted testing and scholarship  information in prominent locations (see figs. 16 and 17). At one urban  high school we visited in Georgia, teachers displayed their alma maters  on their classroom doors and the school held “College Fridays” so  students could learn about different colleges, according to school  administrators.

All-hands-on deck approach. One California school reported using an  “all-hands-on-deck” approach to getting students through the college  admission process. Teachers, counselors, and administrators work  together to track and follow up with students to ensure they take the  needed coursework and do not miss a step in the admissions process.  Officials reported that school staff built personal connections with the  students and with the community outside of the school to encourage buy- in surrounding the college application process. At a high school in  Georgia where 100 percent of students were eligible for free or reduced- priced lunch, school officials said they also used an all-hands-on-deck  approach to help students persevere through personal challenges they  face, such as balancing work and school or dealing with trauma. The  school provides a team of administrators and counselors for each grade  level to better identify when a student may be struggling and help support  students’ college preparation goals, according to school administrators.

Alignment of graduation requirements and college admission  requirements. Wisconsin officials reported that the state made changes  to better align high school requirements with college and career readiness  expectations, and universities’ expectations by increasing its math and  science graduation requirements from two units to three units of each,  starting with the 2017 graduating class. According to a 2014 analysis by  the Education Commission of the States, 18 states have complete or  partial alignment between state high school graduation requirements and  statewide higher education minimum admission requirements. In  addition, the University of California and the California State University  systems have established a uniform minimum set of courses, known as  A-G requirements, required for admission as a freshman. These courses,  offered in California high schools and online schools, are designed to  ensure students have attained a body of general knowledge for more  advanced study, according to information from the University of  California. Even though it is not a state requirement, one Georgia school  district reported that it requires two units of foreign language because it is  a requirement of the University System of Georgia.

Free college admission tests. In two of the states we visited, officials  reported that students may take select college entrance exams or  preparatory exams during a school day free of charge. Georgia pays for  all 10th graders in public schools to take the Preliminary SAT (PSAT).  Wisconsin officials reported that the state requires and provides the  funding for all 11th graders in the state to take the ACT. A school district  in California we visited noted that it covers the cost of the PSAT for 9th,  10th, and 11th graders in the district, as well as the SAT for 11th graders.  In addition, officials at several schools said they offer students free online  test preparation tools.

College initiatives to improve access and retention. Officials at  colleges in all three states we visited reported having initiatives that  helped increase admissions or ease the transition to college for low- income or first-generation students. For example, officials at the  University of Georgia said the college guarantees admission to the  valedictorian of every accredited high school in the state. Admissions  officials said this helped students with fewer educational opportunities to  be competitive for admissions. California State University (CSU)–Los  Angeles, as well as other CSU campuses, has a program to help improve  access and retention of low-income and educationally disadvantaged  students. Under the program, the university accepts a limited number of  students who do not meet regular admission criteria and provides  academic, and in some cases financial, assistance to these students. The  university also offers a 6-week “summer bridge” program for first  generation students since they are most in danger of dropping out  between high school graduation and the first day of college classes in the  fall. At the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, an admissions official said  the university develops transfer plans for students who start at a 2-year  community college, to ease the transition to a 4-year college.

section_title: Agency Comments
paragraphs: We provided a draft of this report to the Departments of Education and  Justice for review and comment. These agencies provided technical  comments, which we incorporated as appropriate.

As agreed with your offices, unless you publicly announce the contents of  this report earlier, we plan no further distribution until 30 days from the  report date. At that time, we will send copies to the appropriate  congressional committee, the Secretary of Education, the Attorney  General, and other interested parties. In addition, the report will be  available at no charge on the GAO website at http://www.gao.gov.

If you or your staff have any questions about this report, please contact  me at (617) 788-0580 or nowickij@gao.gov. Contact points for our Offices  of Congressional Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last  page of this report. GAO staff who made key contributions to this report  are listed in appendix VIII.

section_title: Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology
subsections: section_title: Overview
paragraphs: The objectives of this report were to (1) examine the extent to which high  schools of different poverty levels offer courses to prepare students  academically for college and (2) describe challenges that students in  high-poverty schools face in being prepared to attend college.

For our first objective, we analyzed federal data on college preparatory  course offerings by school poverty level quartiles; and within these  quartiles, we analyzed the demographic composition of students in those  schools. We also analyzed course offerings of schools in each poverty  quartile by school type, size, and locale. Further, we reviewed college  admissions expectations for a generalizable random sample of public 4- year colleges and compared course offerings from schools in each  poverty quartile to these expectations. Lastly, we conducted a regression  analysis to explore whether and to what extent certain school-level  characteristics were associated with higher rates of college preparatory  course offerings.

For our second objective, we visited selected high-poverty high schools in  three states to provide illustrative examples of challenges students face in  being prepared for college. In those states, we also interviewed officials  from state educational agencies, school districts, college advising  organizations, and public 4-year colleges. We focused on public 4-year  colleges because these institutions offer a bachelor’s degree and are  generally a more affordable 4-year option, compared to private colleges.  The following sections contain detailed information about the scope and  methodology for this report.

section_title: Analysis of College Preparatory Courses National Data
paragraphs: To determine the extent to which schools offer courses to prepare  students academically for college, we conducted statistical analyses  using the U.S. Department of Education’s (Education) Civil Rights Data  Collection (CRDC) and the Common Core of Data (CCD). Specifically,  the CRDC is a biennial survey that is mandatory for every public school  and district in the United States. Conducted by Education’s Office for  Civil Rights (OCR), the survey collects data on the nation’s public schools  (pre-K through 12th grade), including course offerings, student  characteristics and enrollment, and disciplinary actions. The CRDC  collected data from nearly every public school in the nation  (approximately 17,000 school districts, 96,000 schools, and 51 million  students in school year 2015-16). The course offering variables we used  in our analysis are for those courses typically associated with and  reported by high schools. As a result, our analysis only includes high  schools that have all grades 9, 10, 11, and 12 (a total of 14,111 high  schools). We thus excluded schools that had any grades K-8. Further, we  excluded juvenile justice facilities—because the provision of educational  offerings may function differently in those schools—and schools with  fewer than 10 students. Our analysis was conducted using the public-use  data file of the CRDC for school year 2015-16, the most recent data  available at the time of our analysis. We matched schools in the CRDC  for school year 2015-16 to schools in the CCD for school year 2015-16 to  enable us to perform certain analyses based on variables that are unique  to the different datasets, and excluded schools for which there was not a  match. CRDC data are self-reported by districts and schools, and  consequently there is potential for misreporting of information. Although  our analyses of these data showed disparities, taken alone, these  disparities do not establish whether unlawful discrimination has occurred.

The 2015-16 CRDC survey collected data on several math and science  courses that are considered by Education to be college-preparatory  courses. The college-preparatory math courses included in the CRDC  are: algebra I; geometry; algebra II; advanced mathematics; and  calculus. The college preparatory science courses included in the CRDC  are: biology; chemistry; and physics. The CRDC also collected data on a  number of variables related to Advanced Placement (AP) course offerings  as well as other course offerings that potentially offer students college  credit. See table 4 for full definitions of key variables.
subsections: section_title: Analysis by Poverty and Student Demographics
paragraphs: To analyze course offerings by the poverty level of the school, we pulled  in data on free or reduced-price lunch (FRPL) eligibility from the 2015- 2016 CCD, and matched it to our universe of 14,111 high schools in the  2015-16 CRDC, given that the CRDC does not collect FRPL eligibility  data. The CCD is administered by Education’s National Center for  Education Statistics (NCES), and annually collects nonfiscal data about  all public schools in the nation. A student is generally eligible for free or  reduced-price lunch based on federal income eligibility guidelines that are  tied to the federal poverty level and size of the family. State educational  agencies supply these data for their schools and school districts.

We then sorted high schools into poverty quartiles based on the  percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch as follows:  schools with 0 to 24.9 percent of students that are FRPL eligible, which  we call low-poverty schools; schools with 25 to 49.9 percent of students  that are FRPL eligible; schools with 50 to 74.9 percent of students that  are FRPL eligible; and schools with 75 to 100 percent of students that are  FRPL eligible, which we call high-poverty schools (see table 5). The  poverty thresholds and measure of poverty discussed here and  throughout this report were commonly used in the literature and also  aligned with how Education analyzed its data. Further, to understand  which students attend schools in the different poverty quartiles, we  analyzed student demographic composition for each group of schools.

Beginning in the 2014-15 school year, the National School Lunch  Program included a new provision for providing free meals to all students  in the school, without needing to collect individual applications from  students to determine eligibility. This provision—known as the  Community Eligibility Provision (CEP)—was implemented to expand  access to free meals to all students and decrease household and  administrative burdens for participating schools. We assessed whether  the CEP variable had the potential to make sorting schools into quartiles  based on the percentage of students eligible for free or reduce-price  lunch unreliable. Our analysis showed that the number of schools in each  poverty quartile remained roughly the same as in prior years and thus, we  concluded the reported FRPL data was reliable for our purposes.

section_title: Analysis by School Size
paragraphs: To analyze course offerings by the size of public school a student  attended, we sorted the 14,111 high schools in our universe into three  groups, based on the number of students enrolled in the school,  according to the 2015-16 CRDC data (see table 6). We excluded schools  with fewer than 10 students because (1) schools of this size likely do not  have the resources or infrastructure to offer advanced courses and (2) to  prevent minor fluctuations in the data from having large effects on our  results.

We grouped schools into one of three size categories based on the  number of students enrolled. The Department of Education and the  CRDC do not have classifications of schools by size, so we determined  reasonable size categories based on our analysis of the data. To arrive at  these categories, we looked at average number of advanced course  offerings by school size strata in groupings of 100 students. This analysis  led to three categories based on the distribution of the data: 1 to 200  students (small schools); 201 to 1000 students (medium schools); and  1,001 or more students (large schools).

section_title: Analysis by School Type
paragraphs: To analyze course offerings by the type of public school a student  attended, we sorted the 14,111 schools in our universe into mutually  exclusive categories using the self-reported school type variable in the  CRDC. The CRDC allowed schools to self-identify as special education,  magnet, charter, and alternative schools (see table 7).

The categories of public schools in the CRDC were not mutually  exclusive; that is, schools could select multiple school types to describe  their schools, such as a charter school that was also an alternative  school. To create mutually exclusive categories for analytical purposes,  we applied the following criteria:

Alternative school: all schools that selected “alternative” as the school  type in the CRDC, even if they selected other types as well.

Special education school: schools that selected “special education” as  the school type in the CRDC, except those schools that also selected  the alternative school type.

Charter school: schools that selected “charter” as the school type,  except those schools that also selected the alternative school type or  the special education school type.

Magnet school: schools that selected “magnet” as the school type,  except those schools that also selected the alternative school type,  the special education school type, or the charter school type.

Traditional school: schools that did not select any other school type in  the CRDC.

Table 8 provides the breakdown of students and schools captured in the  2015-16 CRDC after applying these criteria.

section_title: Analysis by School Locale
paragraphs: To analyze courses offerings by the locale of public school a student  attended, we pulled in the school locale variable from the 2015-16 CCD  and matched it to schools in the CRDC, which did not collect data on  school locale. The locale variable in the CCD is primarily based on a  school’s location relative to populous areas. The locale variable is divided  into four main types: City, Suburb, Town, and Rural. For the purposes of  our analyses, we combined the Town and Rural variables into one  Town/Rural variable because they are defined similarly (see table 9).

Table 10 provides the breakdown of students and schools captured in the  2015-16 CRDC after applying the GAO Categories above.

section_title: CRDC and CCD Data Reliability
paragraphs: We determined that the data we used from the CRDC and CCD were  sufficiently reliable for the purposes of this report by reviewing technical  documentation, conducting electronic testing, and interviewing officials  from Education’s OCR and NCES. Past releases of the CRDC have  subsequently been updated by Education to correct errors and omissions  in the data. For our analysis of the 2015-16 CRDC, we used the data file  that was publically available as of April 24, 2018.

section_title: Regression Analysis
paragraphs: We conducted a generalized linear regression with a logistic regression  model using the 2015-16 CRDC and CCD data to explore whether and to  what extent certain school-level characteristics were associated with  higher rates of college preparatory course offerings, while controlling for  other factors. Such a model allowed us to test the association between  the offering of college preparatory courses and school characteristics,  including poverty, while holding other school characteristics constant  (school type, school size, school locale, student demographics). Table 11  lists the variables we included in our regression model. We conducted a  separate regression for each of the course offerings or sequence of  offerings listed as an outcome variable.

Our regression model used the same universe of 14,111 schools as our  descriptive analysis of the CRDC data. Since the regression model is  based on observations across all independent variables, and some  variables had a small number of missing data points, our final model had  13,278 observations.

All regression models are subject to limitations and for this model the  limitations included:

Data we analyzed were by school rather than student. Consequently,  we were not able to describe the association between our  independent variables and a student’s access to college preparatory  courses, while controlling for characteristics of an individual student,  such as sex, race or ethnicity, disability status, or grade level. Instead,  the school-level nature of the CRDC data limited our description of the  associations between school characteristics and course offerings to  whether there was an increase, decrease, or no effect on course  offerings for schools with a given characteristic, controlling for other  characteristics of the entire school’s population, such as school type.

Some variables that may be related to student access to advanced  courses are not available in the data. For example, in this context, it  could be that parent education level or household type (single- versus  multiple-headed household) could be related to course access.

Results of our analyses are associational and do not imply a causal  relationship.

Typically, a logistic regression model, which is a generalized linear  regression model, is appropriate when the model assumption of normality  is not appropriate, as is the case with a binary (yes/no) outcome. A  logistic regression model provides an estimated odds ratio, where a value  greater than one indicates a higher or positive association, in this case,  between whether a course is offered and the independent variable of  interest, such as being a charter school or having a higher percentage of  Black students. An estimated odds ratio less than one indicates lower  odds of offering a given college preparatory course when a factor is  present.

Given the limitations of our model as described above, we present the  results of our regression model in tables 12, 13, and 14 by describing the  direction of the associations, rather than the estimated odds of outcome  variables. For categorical variables in these tables, we provided the  comparison school characteristic in brackets. For example, the results in  these tables should be interpreted as charter schools were significantly  less likely than traditional schools to offer AP courses, because the  association is negative. For continuous variables (i.e., those starting with  “Percent”), the results in these tables should be interpreted as the  likelihood of offering courses decreased, if the association was negative,  as the percentage of students in the school with a given characteristic  increased. For example, as the percentage of Black students increased,  we found that the likelihood of offering the sequence of at least three  science courses decreased.

section_title: Review of College Admission Criteria
paragraphs: To determine which academic courses colleges expect applicants to take  while in high school, we reviewed websites from a generalizable stratified  random sample of 100 public 4-year colleges in the United States. The  sample was selected from Education’s 2015-16 Integrated Postsecondary  Education Data System (IPEDS), which contains data for colleges that  participate in federal student aid programs authorized under Title IV of the  Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended. Our sampling frame  consisted of all public 4-year degree granting colleges that participated in  Title IV federal student aid programs, predominately award baccalaureate  degrees, have full-time first-time undergraduate students, and that are  located in a U.S. state or the District of Columbia, yielding a universe of  555 colleges. We stratified the sample by groupings colleges based on  admission rates into four strata. We computed the sample size of 100  schools to achieve a precision of at least plus or minus 10 percentage  points for an estimate of a population proportion at the 95 percent  confidence level. We then proportionally allocated the sample size across  the defined strata. This sample allowed us to make national estimates  about the admission criteria for expected high school coursework at  public 4-year colleges.

To review comparable information across the sampled schools, we  developed a standardized web-based data collection instrument that we  used to examine the admission criteria for first-time freshman applicants  posted on each college’s website. Specifically, we attempted to identify  the minimum required or recommended units of math, science, social  studies, English, Foreign Language, and Fine Arts courses applicants are  expected to take in high school to be considered for admission to the  college. For math and science courses, we also attempted to identify any  specified courses the colleges provide to meet the required or  recommended units for those subject. We also collected information on  whether or not each college required students to submit SAT or ACT  exam scores to be considered for admission. We reviewed websites from  September 2017 through November 2017. One analyst recorded  information in the data collection instrument. The information was then  checked and verified by another analyst. We collected complete  information for all 100 colleges in our sample. We then analyzed the  information across colleges. We did not, as part of our review of college  websites, assess whether the information provided on the website  accurately reflected the current admission policies of the college. Instead,  this review was intended to better understand the courses that colleges  expect students to take in high school.

section_title: High School Site Visits
paragraphs: To obtain information on the challenges students attending high-poverty  high schools face in being prepared to attend public 4-year colleges, we  selected three states—California, Georgia, and Wisconsin—and  conducted site visits to four high schools in each of the states (for a total  of 12 high schools). To select states for our site visits, we used the 2013- 14 CRDC data—the most recent available at the time of our selection—to  sort states based on the percentage of their schools offering courses  commonly associated with college readiness. We selected states that  fell below the national average in percentage of schools offering Algebra  II. We also considered states that were at or above the national average  in percent of high-poverty schools offering two or fewer math and science  courses. We also selected states providing us with a mix of state policies  on college readiness and geographic diversity.

Within each of the three states we used 2013-14 CRDC data to select  high schools to visit that had greater than 75 percent of students eligible  for free or reduced-price lunch (FRPL) and that offered a range of math  and science courses. We also considered the number of AP courses  offered by the school. As secondary criteria, we selected schools to  achieve variation in school size, school type, and locale, to gather  perspectives from officials in a diverse array of high-poverty schools. At  each of the 12 schools, we interviewed the principal and other key  leadership staff, and high school counselors.

To supplement our site visits, we interviewed by phone state educational  agency officials in each of the three states, as well as school district  officials for most of the schools we visited. We interviewed officials from  at least one local college advising organization in each of these states. In  addition, we interviewed officials from at least one public 4-year university  in each of the three states, for a total of four public 4-year universities. We  selected universities that admit a high percent of in-state students, to  attempt to talk to officials who were familiar with the high schools that we  selected. These interviews provided us with information about what  college admission officers view as challenges in admitting students from  high poverty schools and the challenges students face in being  successful in completing college.

Because we selected the schools judgmentally, based on our criteria, the  findings about the challenges these schools reported or the strategies  they used to help students address those challenges cannot be  generalized to all schools nationwide.

section_title: Additional Interviews
paragraphs: In addition to interviews in our site visit states, we interviewed officials  from the Education Commission of the States, National Association for  College Admission Counseling, and the College Board. We also held  interviews and reviewed documentation from the U.S. Departments of  Education and Justice to gather information on their programs supporting  access to college preparation opportunities. We also reviewed relevant  literature, as appropriate.

We conducted this performance audit from May 2017 to October 2018 in  accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.  Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain  sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our  findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that  the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and  conclusions based on our audit objectives.

section_title: Appendix II: U.S. Department of Education Discretionary Grant Programs to Increase College Readiness in K-12 Students

section_title: Appendix III: Federal Agencies Responsible for Enforcing Civil Rights Laws in Public Schools

section_title: Appendix IV: Selected Federal Civil Rights Enforcement Cases Related to Access to College Preparation Courses and Programs
subsections: section_title: Department of Education
paragraphs: According to administrative data from the U.S. Department of Education  (Education), the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) received over 480 civil  rights cases related to college and career readiness and resource  comparability from FY 2011 through 2017. Some of these cases were  initiated by external complaints and other reviews were initiated by  Education. In the selected cases described below Education found  underrepresentation of minority students or English learners in advanced,  honors, or Advanced Placement (AP) middle and high school courses or  in other types of college preparatory programs. This selection of cases is  not generalizable, and was selected for illustrative purposes only.

Education Case 1: Equitable Access to Advanced Courses for Black  Students in an Ohio School District. In a 2016 investigation, OCR  identified a number of potential Title VI compliance concerns regarding  equitable access to certain resources for Black students at some  schools. Specifically, OCR found that students at three schools,  including two predominantly Black high schools, did not have the  opportunity to take advanced courses taught live at their schools and,  therefore, could not engage in-person with the course instructors.  According to OCR’s investigation, students participated remotely,  watching the class through a video system. When the classes first started  during the 2011-12 school year, the district staffed the distance classroom  with paraprofessionals to assist the students. For that year, the district  reported using technology to offer greater curriculum choices to its  students through distance learning, especially when a sufficient number  of students did not sign up for an advanced course at a specific school.  After OCR notified the district of its concerns regarding this practice, the  district placed teachers in these classrooms effective the 2014-15 school  year. The district reported to Education that it was also pursuing efforts  that would allow students to earn college credit, increase the number of  courses, and improve the courses to provide high-level course choices for  students. Before OCR concluded its investigation, district school officials  voluntarily entered into a resolution agreement with Education, which  committed the district to take certain actions, such as implementing  programs designed to ensure that equally effective and qualified teachers  are equitably distributed throughout the district and ensure Advanced  Placement and other higher-level college preparatory courses are taught in the district’s predominantly Black high schools, and provide students  the opportunity to engage in-person with course instructors.

Education Case 2: Equitable Access to College Preparatory  Programs for Black, Hispanic, and English Learner (EL) Students in  a New York School District. In 2013, OCR investigated whether a New  York school district discriminated against Black, Hispanic, and EL  students by establishing and implementing policies and procedures that  resulted in their exclusion from college and career ready programs and  courses, such as honors courses and AP courses. OCR reviewed  information that the district provided regarding its high school honors  courses and analyzed data from the district that revealed that Black,  Hispanic, and EL students were underrepresented to a statistically  significant degree in high school honors courses and AP courses. OCR  also reviewed information concerning the district’s gifted and talented  program at the elementary and middle school levels and its advanced  courses at the middle school level. Data provided by the district indicated  that Black, Hispanic and EL students were underrepresented to a  statistically significant degree in middle school advanced courses, as well  as in some of the district’s enrichment programs. OCR noted that  enrollment in these programs and courses could potentially have an effect  on later enrollment in high school honors and AP courses. Before the  conclusion of OCR’s investigation, the district voluntarily entered into a  resolution agreement with Education. The agreement committed the  district to take specific actions including hiring a consultant with expertise  in addressing the underrepresentation of Black, Hispanic, and EL  students in advanced and enrichment courses. According to the  agreement, the consultant was to study the underrepresentation and  make specific recommendations, as appropriate, for improving the  district’s efforts to provide all students with equal access to and an equal  opportunity to participate in its advanced courses and programs.

Education Case 3: Representation of Black Students in Advanced  Courses and Enrichment Programs in a New Jersey School District.  In 2014, OCR determined that Black students in a New Jersey school  district were underrepresented in high school AP courses. Specifically,  OCR found that Black students comprised 51.5 percent of high school  students in the district, but only 18.7 percent of students in AP courses in school year 2012-13. In addition, OCR determined that in middle schools,  Black students were underrepresented in the district’s advanced math  courses, as well as in the math enrichment programs at certain schools in  the district. Before the conclusion of OCR’s investigation, the district  voluntarily entered into a resolution agreement with Education. The  agreement committed the district to take specific actions including hiring a  consultant with expertise in addressing the underrepresentation of Black  students in college and career preparatory courses. According to the  agreement, the consultant was to study the underrepresentation and  make recommendations, as appropriate, for improving the district’s efforts  to provide all students with equal access to and an equal opportunity to  participate in its advanced courses and programs.

Education Case 4: College Preparation Opportunities for Black  Students in a Virginia School District. In 2014, OCR investigated  whether a Virginia school district discriminated against Black students by  failing to provide them with the same resources and educational  opportunities that it provided to White students to prepare them for  postsecondary education or careers. As part of this review, OCR  reviewed information regarding the district’s high school higher-level  learning opportunities, including advanced courses, AP courses, and dual  credit programs (where students enroll in courses at a local community  college). In addition, OCR collected and reviewed information about other  possible barriers to college and career readiness, including student  discipline. OCR found a significant disparity between the numbers of  Black and White high school students who take AP, advanced courses,  and dual credit programs. Preliminary information provided by the district  indicated disproportion in the representation of Black students in  advanced math classes, gifted programs, and accelerated reading  programs in elementary schools. When speaking with students about  what they considered in determining whether to enroll in these courses,  many students informed OCR that they took AP or advanced courses if  they took advanced courses in middle school and elementary school.  OCR also reviewed student discipline, particularly exclusionary  disciplinary that removes students from the school setting, because,  according to OCR, such removals can serve as a potential barrier to  college and career readiness. Before OCR concluded its investigation,  the district voluntarily entered into a resolution agreement with Education  to resolve the case. The agreement committed the district to retain the  services of a consultant with expertise in addressing the  underrepresentation of Black students in gifted programs, elementary and  middle school advanced courses, and high school AP and dual credit  courses. The consultant’s role was to examine the root causes for  underrepresentation and to make recommendations about what  measures, if any, the district should take as part of its on-going efforts to  provide all students with equal access to advanced courses and  programs. According to the agreement, the consultant was to study the  underrepresentation and make recommendations, as appropriate, for  improving the district’s efforts to provide all students with equal access to  and an equal opportunity to participate in its advanced courses and  programs.

section_title: Department of Justice
paragraphs: Justice also investigates allegations of discrimination related to school  resources in response to complaints filed under federal civil rights  statutes and monitors and enforces open federal school desegregation  orders where Justice is a party to the litigation. Justice sometimes  partners with OCR on these cases. In September 2017, Justice officials  stated that there were 172 open cases to which the agency was a party.  The selected cases described below summarize Justice’s findings and  the agreed upon remedies. This selection of cases is not generalizable,  and was selected for illustrative purposes only.

Justice Case 1: Equal Educational Opportunities in an Alabama  School District. As part of an ongoing civil rights lawsuit against an  Alabama school district, in 2015, the U.S. District Court for the Northern  District of Alabama approved a consent order filed by Justice and the  district to reconfigure school attendance zones, improve access to quality  course offerings, and address racial discrimination in student discipline,  among other areas. The proposed consent order required the district to  provide equal educational opportunities to Black students by revising  attendance zones and growing and strengthening magnet programs to  improve diversity at many of its schools. It also required the district to  expand access for Black students by taking a number of steps, including  expanding access for Black students to college counseling and advance course offerings such as AP and International Baccalaureate (IB). It also  required the district to expand access for Black students to pre- kindergarten, gifted programs, and academic afterschool programs. The  district agreed to implement measures to promote faculty and  administrator diversity and to ensure that all students are aware of and  can equally participate in extracurricular activities.

Justice Case 2: Equitable Access to Course Offerings in a Louisiana  School District. As part of an ongoing civil rights lawsuit against a  Louisiana School Board, in 2015, the U.S. District Court for the Western  District of Louisiana approved a consent decree between Justice and the  school board. This consent decree addressed district’s fulfillment of its  desegregation obligations, terminating long-standing judicial supervision  of the district in this matter. Prior to this consent decree, in 2010, the court  directed the district to offer the same courses at every high school.  However, 5 years later, the court found that a high school in the district,  which predominantly served White students, offered 32 more courses,  including college preparatory courses, than another high school, which  predominantly served Black students. Similarly, across all schools in the  district (elementary, middle, and high), the schools that were racially  identifiable as White had far more gifted and talented course offerings  than other schools. In the consent decree, the district agreed, among  other things, to strive to have all courses listed in its course catalog taught  at each high school. Further, if a course is ultimately not taught at a given  school, students at that school would be given the opportunity to take the  course at another school in the district. The district also agreed to provide  free transportation, at the student’s request, and to adjust the student’s  schedule and the scheduling and location of the course, as necessary, to  facilitate the student’s attendance at the course.

Justice Case 3: Access to College and Career Readiness Programs  and Courses for American Indian Students in a New Mexico School  District. In 2017, Justice and OCR resolved a compliance review of a  New Mexico school district. The purpose of the review was to determine  whether the district discriminated against American Indians by excluding  them from college and career readiness programs and courses, such as  gifted and talented, AP, and honors courses. Justice and OCR also  evaluated whether the district discriminated against American Indian  parents by not providing them with information surrounding the  aforementioned programs and courses in a language they understand.  District staff surveyed during this review recommended ways to address  American Indian student underrepresentation in college and career  readiness programs and courses. On February 14, 2017, the district  entered into a resolution agreement with OCR and Justice, committing to  take specific actions to ensure that it is providing an equal opportunity  and equal access for all students to its advanced and higher level  learning opportunities. The district agreed to several actions including  reaching out to an equity assistance center or consultant for technical  assistance in addressing the underrepresentation of American Indian  students in the college and career readiness programs and courses and  improving outreach to the American Indian community.

section_title: Appendix V: Additional Data Tables
paragraphs: This appendix contains several tables that show the underlying data used  throughout this report, as well as additional analyses we conducted using  the Department of Education’s Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) and  Common Core of Data (CCD) for school year 2015-16. The following  tables and information are included in this appendix:

Table 17: High schools offering math and science courses, by school  poverty level.

Table 18: High schools offering math and science sequences, by  school poverty level.

Table 19: High schools offering Advanced Placement courses,  International Baccalaureate program, and Dual Enrollment options, by  school poverty level.

Table 20: High schools offering different numbers of Advanced  Placement courses, by school poverty level.

Table 21: High schools offering math courses, by school size and  poverty level.

Table 22: High schools offering science courses, by school size and  poverty level.

Table 23: High schools offering math and science sequences, by  school size and poverty level.

Table 24: High schools offering Advanced Placement courses,  International Baccalaureate program, and Dual Enrollment options, by  school size and poverty level.

Table 25: High schools offering math courses, by school type and  poverty level.

Table 26: High schools offering science courses, by school type and  poverty level.

Table 27: High schools offering math and science sequences, by  school type and poverty level.

Table 28: High schools offering Advanced Placement courses,  International Baccalaureate program, and Dual Enrollment options, by  school type and poverty level.

Table 29: High schools offering math courses, by school locale and  poverty level.

Table 30: High schools offering science courses, by school locale and  poverty level.

Table 31: High schools offering math and science sequences, by  school locale and poverty level.

Table 32: High schools offering Advanced Placement courses,  International Baccalaureate program, and Dual Enrollment options, by  school locale and poverty level.

section_title: Appendix VI: Additional Figures

section_title: Appendix VII: College Admission Website Review
paragraphs: As described in Appendix I, we reviewed websites from a nationally- representative sample of 100 public 4-year colleges in the United States  to determine which academic courses colleges expect applicants to take  while in high school. Our sampling frame consisted of all public 4-year  degree granting colleges that participated in Title IV federal student aid  programs, predominately award baccalaureate degrees, have full-time  first-time undergraduate students, and that are located in a U.S. state or  the District of Columbia, yielding a universe of 555 colleges. Based on our  review, an estimated 88 percent of public 4-year colleges posted  recommended or required high school coursework as admission criteria  for applicants. Of the colleges that had coursework criteria posted on their  websites, the results are shown in table 33 below.

section_title: Appendix VIII: GAO Contacts and Staff Acknowledgments
subsections: section_title: GAO Contact

section_title: Staff Acknowledgments
paragraphs: In addition to the contact named above, Sherri Doughty (Assistant  Director), Cady Panetta (Analyst-in-Charge), James Ashley, James  Bennett, David Dornisch, Holly Dye, Alison Grantham, Connor Kincaid,  Grant Mallie, Benjamin Sinoff, Walter Vance, and Sonya Vartivarian made  key contributions to this report. Also contributing were Deborah Bland,  Aaron Karty, Sheila R. McCoy, and Margie Shields.


Question-summary annotations: questions: question: What did students in relatively poor schools have less access to?
answer: Students in relatively poor and small schools had less access to high school courses that help prepare them for college, according to GAO's analysis of Department of Education (Education) data for school year 2015-16 (the most recent available).

question: What course disparities were associated with school poverty level?
answer: While most public high schools, regardless of poverty level, offered courses like algebra and biology, disparities in access were associated with school poverty level for more advanced courses like calculus, physics, and those that may allow students to earn college credit, like Advanced Placement (AP) courses (see figure).
child_questions: question: What were high-poverty schools less likely to offer?
answer: High-poverty schools were less likely to offer the math and science courses that most public 4-year colleges expect students to take in high school, according to GAO's analysis of college websites.

question: What are smaller schools and certain types of schools, like charter schools, less likely to offer?
answer: GAO's regression analysis also showed that smaller schools and certain types of schools, like charter schools, are less likely to offer the college preparatory math or science courses that many colleges look for during the admissions process.

questions: question: What did interviewed high school officials say about their students?
answer: Officials GAO interviewed in selected high-poverty high schools said their students can face a number of complex challenges in preparing for college.
child_questions: question: What is an example of these challenges?
answer: For instance, officials said that many students are academically behind when they enter high school and are unable to progress to more advanced courses.

question: What is a problem with high-poverty skills that decreases students' ability to progress to advanced classes?
answer: Further, high-poverty schools may not offer rigorous courses, such as AP courses, due to lack of resources or teaching staff.

question: What are the effects of poverty on high school students?
answer: Officials at 9 of the 12 schools GAO visited cited the effects of poverty on their students, such as homelessness, hunger, and trauma, that make preparing for college difficult.

question: What were the reported efforts to address these challenges?
answer: Officials in selected schools reported efforts to address these challenges, such as offering free college courses and obtaining outside supports to assist with college advising.

questions: question: How does poverty affect low income students?
answer: Poverty can have a profound effect on academic outcomes and college readiness and students from low-income families are less likely to go to college.

question: What questions do low rates of degree attainment for low-income students raise?
answer: The low rates of degree attainment for low-income students raises questions about whether the students who wish to pursue higher education have access to courses that support their readiness for college.
child_questions: question: What was the GAO asked to do?
answer: GAO was asked to review college preparatory course offerings in U.S. high schools.

questions: question: What does this report examine?
answer: This report (1) examines the extent to which high schools of different poverty levels offer courses to prepare students academically for college, and (2) describes the challenges students in high-poverty schools face being prepared to attend college.

question: How did the GAO analyze eduction data on course offerings?
answer: GAO analyzed 2015-16 Education data on course offerings by school poverty level, type, and size, and developed a generalized linear regression model to explore whether certain school-level characteristics may be associated with course offerings; reviewed a generalizable sample of public 4-year college websites for course requirements for admission; and interviewed officials from Education and the Department of Justice.
child_questions: question: How were the GAO site visit locations selected?
answer: GAO also conducted site visits to 12 high-poverty high schools in 3 states selected to provide variation in course offerings, among other things.

question: What did the GAO focus on in this review?
answer: In this review, GAO focused on public 4-year colleges because they offer a bachelor's degree and are generally a more affordable 4-year option.