Increasing Access to Rigorous Coursework: North Carolina Policy Impacts on Diversity in Advanced Math Courses

Abstract

The North Carolina General Assembly (NCGA) enacted Session Law 2019-120 (SL 120) in August 2019 to be implemented by districts by December 2021. The law determines student eligibility for advanced courses based on End-of-Grade (EOG) test scores. This report measures the potential impacts of SL 120 on under-identified student groups placed into 8th-grade Algebra 1. Legislation like SL 120 that use test scores as the determinant for advanced course placement typically privilege already well-represented students since those groups tend to score higher on standardized tests. Therefore, this report suggests that legislation SL 120 may expand access to advanced courses mainly for already well-represented student groups.