Separate And Everything But Equal: Tackling The Advanced Coursework Equity Gap In America Today by Tomi

Separate And Everything But Equal: Tackling The Advanced Coursework Equity Gap In America Today by Tomi - July 2022 Scholarship Essay

Overwhelmed with disappointment and the feeling of failure, I quickly rushed to the restroom, where hot tears poured down my cheeks. With my body shaking and my head pounding, I felt as if I was the dumbest person in the world. I had failed yet another test. This feeling of complete failure was unfamiliar to me until my sophomore year, when honors and AP classes took up most of my schedule. Before that, my schedule consisted of on-level classes, which were a breeze for me. In my AP and honors classes, I constantly felt the pressure to work twice as hard to succeed.
At first, the pressure felt like it was too much and too intense. Over time, however, I grew to discover and understand the methods to thrive in advanced classes. Through challenging coursework, I grasped many valuable life lessons such as staying persistent amidst failure and believing in myself even when doubts consumed me. Being in rigorous classes allowed me to develop tremendously, both academically and personally. My gratitude for these classes comes, not only from the growth they have provided me but also from the fact that I actually have the opportunity to have access to them. Unfortunately, throughout the United States, there is an advanced coursework equity gap, where some schools offer many challenging courses, while others offer few to none. Within the next ten years, I hope to see deliberate efforts being made to ensure that all students have proper access to advanced coursework and the resources that will allow them to be successful in these endeavors.
Having access to advanced coursework is truly a privilege for public schools in the United States. According to research conducted by Georgetown University, “Around 70 percent of the nation's public high schools now offer at least one of the AP’s 38 available courses.” Even so, access is uneven. Schools in lower-income communities are far less likely to offer AP courses than schools in more affluent areas. This is especially true in the disadvantaged community of Newark, New Jersey, where thousands of Black and Hispanic students are shut out of AP classes. At a Newark charter school, students say that their “school offered just one advanced class: AP U.S. History” (Hall, 4/26/22). While students like myself can take many challenging classes, students in disadvantaged communities have to stay in classes where expectations are low and where homework is scarce.
Although many schools within disadvantaged communities need more accessible advanced coursework, simply adding AP and honors classes to these schools is not enough. As of today, students in disadvantaged areas are less likely to pass AP and honors classes than students in affluent areas. The differences in pass rates are caused by the differences in preparation. Students in affluent areas are gradually prepared for advanced coursework throughout their schooling career, starting from as early as elementary school. In contrast, students in disadvantaged areas are given the same difficulty of coursework each year. To truly prepare students for success in future AP and honors classes, education systems of disadvantaged communities must implement curricula that focus heavily on core subjects, starting from elementary school. The gradual exposure to challenging coursework lets students of disadvantaged areas ease into the demands of advanced classes– just like students of affluent areas do.
Ultimately, the closure of the advanced coursework equity gap is no easy task. That being said, it is my hope that change will arrive sooner rather than later. If the education systems of disadvantaged areas begin to provide their students with access to advanced classes along with the preparation needed to be successful within them, then students of disadvantaged communities will not have to limit themselves to regular, on-level classes. Instead, they can choose to challenge themselves just like many of their peers do nationwide. The wide gap between advanced coursework in affluent areas and disadvantaged areas is one that I hope to see change tremendously within the next ten years. Regardless of where one goes to school, everyone should have an equalized opportunity to choose advanced coursework where they can experience growth–both academically and personally.