College Board ‘committed’ to closing equity gaps

By Kayla Gahagan, Journal staff | Tuesday, July 08, 2008

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Rapid City’s Central High School is not alone in trying to find better ways to get low- income and minority students more prepared for college.

The College Board, which provides Advanced Placement classes, was alarmed enough by low Native American participation to launch a study in 2005 to find out why.

Shelley Arakawa, chief educational manager at College Board’s western region office, said it is no secret that minorities are underrepresented in advanced classes.

Before the study, the number of Native American/Alaska Native students taking Advanced Placement exams in the 12th grade increased 25 percent between 1999 and 2003, which was a lower rate of increase than that for students overall (35 percent).

Native students scored, on average, consistently below the national average, on the calculus, English language and composition, chemistry, and U.S. history advance examinations.

It’s worth an effort to improve those numbers, Arakawa said.

The College Board devotes some of its time working with educators in how to assist Native American students in taking and succeeding in rigorous course work.

Training teachers to teach in a way that relates to their cultures is one way to help, she said.

“If it’s culturally relevant, Native American students will be more engaged and more effective in class,” she said. “Sometimes administrative education fails to be responsive to Native American students.”

It’s a challenge for the College Board, she said, because they can offer only standardized curriculum for Advanced Placement courses.

They can’t tailor the courses to students’ background and culture. Teachers, she said, have the latitude to do that.

It should be done in a way that doesn’t isolate other students, she said. For example, Native Americans have a significant role in U.S. history, but it is often overlooked in education. Including some of that history in the lesson plan would make Native American students feel more included.

“There is a way to not completely restructure it, but introduce elements that would resonate more with Native American students,” she said.

Which is why training educators in how to teach advanced courses is so important, she said.

“They need to be properly trained in order to implement a successful AP program,” she said.

Kathryn Sosa, the district’s Talented and Gifted and AP coordinator, said it isn’t fair to assume that because a student is a minority or from a low-income family, they aren’t doing well in school.

She said the district is working to include more students of all backgrounds into the courses.

The district has been committed to training its teachers in Advanced Placement and expanded the program in 2006, but the expansion was halted this year because of budget constraints.

Arakawa said the College Board will continue to work with educators to decrease the equity gaps minorities face in advanced courses. She’s optimistic for the future.

“I know that this is going to be a long, long journey, but I also know in my heart this is the right thing,” she said. “We’re committed to it, and I think we’re making progress.”

What is the College Board?

* Advanced Placement courses are administered by the College Board, which is a nonprofit membership association whose mission is to connect students to college.

* The association comprises more than 5,400 schools, colleges, universities, and other educational organizations.

* Each year, it serves 7 million students and their parents, 23,000 high schools, and 3,500 colleges in providing services for college admissions, guidance, assessment, financial aid, enrollment, and teaching and learning.

Contact Kayla Gahagan at 394-8410 or kayla.gahagan@rapidcityjournal.com