How Schools Create Inequality: California in the Algebra for All Era
Greater educational opportunities do not necessarily lead to equal opportunities, but little research considers organizational sources of educational inequalities during expansion. Drawing on 2003-2013 panel data for California middle schools, this talk assesses school-level variation in course-taking gaps during the rapid expansion the “Algebra for All” effort. Aggregate trends obscure two organizational influences on inequality: how widely opportunities are provided and how unequally existing opportunities are allocated. Local organizational inequality regimes contribute to maintaining relative social inequalities even as absolute opportunities increase.
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