Solorzano, Daniel G., and Armida Ornelas. “A Critical Race Analysis of Advanced Placement Classes: A Case of Educational Inequality.”Journal of Latinos & Education. no. 4 (2002): 215-29. http://0-web.a.ebscohost.com.books.redlands.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=576965dc-9de8-49bb-8fc1-4e69fb3f1198@sessionmgr4001&vid=1&hid=4109 (accessed February 8, 2014).

In this article, the authors use race theory to analyze the availability of Advanced Placement courses and how they have an impact on the educations of Chicana/Latina students. The authors explore the topic of educational inequality, specifically in the availability of AP classes to various races and genders. This article asks three research questions: “How do school structures, processes, and discourses help maintain racial/ethnic/gender/class discrimination in access to AP/Honors classes? How do Chicana/Latina students and parents respond to the educational structures [sic] processes, and discourses that help maintain racial/ethnic/gender/class discrimination in access to AP/Honors classes? How can school reforms help end racial/ethnic/gender/class discrimination in access to AP/Honors classes?”

The authors needed to examine AP enrollment to look for disparities between various races, genders, and classes. They also looked at the average amount of AP classes taken by students who were admitted to UCLA. In this study, the authors focused on a particular school district in California that served a large population of Chicana/Latina students and obtained its records on AP enrollment. It is not clear how they obtained this data in the article. They also obtained data on UCLA admissions, but it is not specified where and how they obtained this data. I would have liked to have been told how their data were collected. To analyze the data, the authors compared the percentages of various races that enrolled in AP classes in different high schools in the same district. They also analyzed the average income levels of each school and looked for patterns.

As a result of this research, the authors found that Chicana/Latina students were underrepresented in AP enrollment. There was also low enrollment at low-income schools. It doesn’t seem as if they looked into gender, which is strange because they did include gender in their initial questions. At the end of the article, the authors offered recommendations. The K-12 recommendations included, “K-12 institutions must develop a college-going culture that includes, at minimum, the following six conditions: 1. A school culture supportive of advanced study and college going. 2. Student participation in rigorous academic courses (i.e. a-f courses and AP programs). 3. Student access to qualified teachers. 4. Student access to intensive academic supports. 5. The school developing a multicultural college-going identity. 6. The school’s connections with parents and community around advanced study.”

This research was a great start to a complex topic. Although the research clearly showed that Chicana/Latina students were underrepresented in AP classes, it did not delve deeply into the reasons behind this, which would be very interesting to determine. Additionally, they showed that schools with urban, low income students had low AP enrollment, but these schools did still offer AP classes. It would be helpful to know what is going on to cause the low enrollment to be able to make detailed suggestions to schools. The authors’ recommendations to schools are fairly vague and may be difficult for schools to accomplish without further guidance. However, these recommendations are a great place to start.