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The authors examine students’ linear progression histories in mathematics throughout high school years, using the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009. Although scholars have attended to this before, the authors provide a new organizing framework for thousands of heterogenous mathematics course-taking sequences. Using cluster analysis, the authors identify eight distinctive course-taking sequence typologies. Approximately 45 percent of students take a linear sequence of mathematics, whereas others stop taking mathematics altogether, repeat coursework, or regress to lower level courses. Only about 14 percent of students take the expected four-year linear sequence of Algebra 1–Geometry–Algebra II–Advanced Mathematics. Membership into different typologies is related to student characteristics and school settings (e.g., race, socioeconomic status, and high school graduation requirements). The results provide a tool for schools’ self-assessment of mathematics course-taking histories among students, creating intervention opportunities and a foundation for future research on advancing our understanding of stratification in math course-taking patterns, postsecondary access, and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics majors.
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This content will become publicly available on August 27, 2025
Who benefits from high school exit exams? Examining variations in math course-taking by abilities and socioeconomic status
Using the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009, the association between high school exit exams and mathematics course-taking patterns is explored. Exit exams are linked to a decreased likelihood of students taking upward-bound mathematics during their four years of high school. Exit exams are also associated with fewer mathematics credits earned. However, exit exams are linked to increased likelihood of students completing Precalculus or higher, but have no discernible association with completing Algebra II or higher. Importantly, significant disparities exist in these associations, with underprivileged, underperforming students often experiencing limited access to advanced math courses due to exit exams.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1660402
- PAR ID:
- 10541197
- Publisher / Repository:
- Arizona State University
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Education Policy Analysis Archives
- Volume:
- 32
- ISSN:
- 1068-2341
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- math course-taking pattern exit exam on track off track equity
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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