Supporting Latino and African-American students in advanced placement courses: a school counseling program's approach.

Traditionally, Latino and African-American students have been underrepresented in Advanced Placement courses. However, professional school counselors work to remove barriers to all students' success. This article (a) identifies challenges that Latino and African-American students encounter in accessing Advanced Placement courses, (b) reviews the role of professional school counselors in serving traditionally disenfranchised student populations, and (c) introduces a school counseling program's approach to supporting these students and their families.

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College-bound students often prepare to enter postsecondary institutions by enrolling in college preparatory-level courses while still in high school (e.g., Advanced Placement [AP], Dual Enrollment, International Baccalaureate; Solorzano & Ornelas, 2004). For example, the AP program, coordinated by the College Board in partnership with colleges and universities, offers 37 college-level subject areas to high school students (College Board, 2008). The College Board works with secondary schools to train teachers and develop curricula that enable students to meet the criteria for college-level learning in these subject areas.

Students in AP courses gain exposure to college-level curricula and have an opportunity to earn credits before enrolling in a degree-seeking program (College Board, 2008). In addition, Dougherty, Mellor, and Jian (2006) found that earning an AP examination grade was a strong predictor of completing a bachelor's degree and that a successful AP examination grade was an even stronger predictor (as defined as 3 out of 5 on a 5-point scale [College Board]). Academic tracking practices may influence whether students enroll in AP courses. Academic tracking consists of guiding students' curricula through separate tracks (e.g., career prep, tech prep, college/advanced college prep) with the intent of creating a successful learning environment for all students (Callahan, 2005). Research suggests that the rigor of an African-American or Latino student's academic tracking significantly correlates to his or her postsecondary planning and success (Martinez & Klopott, 2005). Furthermore, Akos, Lambie, Milsom, and Gilbert (2007) found that academic tracking not only influenced students' academic success, but also their career and academic aspirations. Therefore, students tracked into the AP curriculum tend to have higher vocational and academic aspirations and increased postsecondary success.

Latino and African-American students are underrepresented in AP courses nationwide, and those who enrolled in AP courses and completed the AP examinations scored significantly lower than Caucasian students (College Board, 2008). These discrepancies support the well-documented academic achievement gap between Latino and African-American students and their Caucasian peers, and they reaffirm the evidence of barriers preventing equity in access to higher education for Latino and African-American students (Constantine, Kindaichi, & Miville, 2007). Professional school counselors are influential in a student's academic tracking (Akos et al., 2007); therefore, they should work to identify barriers affecting students' access to higher-level courses and design interventions to address these barriers (American School Counselor Association [ASCA], 2005).

Latino and African-American students often experience oppressive practices both inside and outside schools that may affect their ability to pursue high-level courses (i.e., the AP curriculum) and their postsecondary aspirations (Astramovich & Harris, 2007; Holcomb-McCoy & Chen-Hayes, 2007). For example, retention, standardized testing, tracking, and disciplinary policies have been identified as practices that may be implemented in a manner that is potentially oppressive (Nieto, 2004). In addition, Potts (2003) found that Latino and African-American students also were disproportionately represented in exceptional education programs and were more likely to be labeled as learning disabled or slow learners.

Outside of school, research suggests that parent/caregiver support is often the strongest predictive factor in the educational aspirations of Latino and African-American students (Sciarra & Whitson, 2007). Kenny, Blustein, Chaves, Grossman, and Gallagher (2003) found that Latino and African-American students perceive their parents/caregivers as either their greatest support or greatest harrier in their educational development. Additionally, Immerwahr (2003) found that a lack of exposure and interaction with those who have college experience, including positive role models, also may hinder Latino students' ability and motivation to obtain college and career information. Further, Lent, Brown, and Hackett (2000) suggested that participation in career development activities can help facilitate students' career decision-making processes and school-to-work transitions; however, Luzzo and McWhirter (2001) found that Latino and African-American students reported experiencing significant constraints to their career development activities including financial difficulty, child care, and barriers related to their ethnic identity. Therefore, Latino and African-American students' limited career development activities and experience with people who have achieved higher education may contribute to their lower enrollment and scores in AP courses.

Educational programs that promote equal access to higher education for traditionally underserved populations do exist. For example, the Kaufman Scholars initiative (Kaufman Scholars Inc., 2008) targets low-income urban students beginning in seventh grade. The students accepted into the program participate in academic advising, counseling, career planning, life coaching, internship experiences, and assistance with the college planning process. The students are encouraged and supported in taking a rigorous course schedule. Additionally, the Barrio Logan College Institute (BLCI, www.blci.org) serves primarily underserved Latino populations. BLCI is an after-school program that provides tutoring, college and career planning, test preparation, and help with securing financial assistance.

Unfortunately, these programs sometimes have limited enrollment and availability, and they do not address the engrained systemic practices evident in educational systems. Conversely, professional school counselors (PSCs) are in a unique position to address the academic, career, and personal/social needs of all students including those who are traditionally underserved. PSCs must be aware of the institutional barriers such as discrimination, racism, and oppression that may affect students' educational attainment, serve as social justice advocates for underrepresented groups, and act as agents for systemic change within educational systems (ASCA, 2005). Additionally, PSCs develop comprehensive programs to reduce barriers and support students in their holistic development. Therefore, PSCs must disaggregate schoolwide data to reveal the areas where Latino and African-American groups are lagging (e.g., representation in AP courses). To support the effectiveness of school counseling services, PSCs collaborate with the stakeholders within the school and community to develop action plans for implementing school-based activities and document and disseminate the results of their interventions by tracking data over time.

This article identifies the potential challenges Latino and African-American students often encounter in accessing AP courses. Additionally, we review the role of the PSC as an agent of systemic change advocated by the ASCA National Model[R] (2005). Finally, we present pragmatic strategies, based on a school counseling program's approach for supporting Latino and African-American students in AP courses that assisted these historically marginalized students' success and development.

A SCHOOL COUNSELING PROGRAM'S APPROACH TO SUPPORTING LATINO AND AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDENTS IN AP COURSES

The following introduces one school counseling program's approach to supporting Latino and African-American students in AP courses. To begin, a team of practicing PSCs obtained their school's AP course data, including demographic information from the College Board. After disaggregating and analyzing these data, the counselors discovered that although the total enrollment in AP courses at their school had increased over the previous 3 years, Latino and African-American students had been consistently underrepresented based on the school's demographics. The school's total enrollment consisted of 2,692 students, including 41% Caucasian, 9% African American, 40% Latino, 5% Asian, 3% multiracial, and 1% American Indian or Alaskan native. Approximately 11% of the Latino students and 8% of the African-American students were enrolled in AP courses at the time of this program. In order to address this issue, the PSCs collaborated with the relevant stakeholders (e.g., students, teachers, administrators, and parents/caregivers) to develop a program to identify, track, prepare, and support qualified Latino and African-American students for the AP course curriculum.

Step 1: Collaboration

The PSCs collaborated with the teachers, administrators, parents/caregivers, and other school staff to design and implement this program. First, the counselors collected the data and began formulating interventions to address the issue. The initial brainstorming team included six practicing school counselors, a school psychologist, and a school social worker. The team decided on potential interventions and then developed a timeline that corresponded with the school counselors' guidance calendar. Next, the intervention team set a meeting and proposed the program to the school's administration. The administrators worked collaboratively with the PSCs to develop an action plan of when, where, and how the program would be implemented (ASCA, 2005). After collaborating with the school's administration, the PSCs selected a group of teachers to support the program. The PSCs met with the teachers to review the school's data and discuss how systemic barriers contributed to the lack of Latino and African-American representation in their AP courses. The teachers also were consulted regarding the AP curriculum and the characteristics (i.e., study habits) of successful AP students. Finally, the teachers and PSCs collaboratively developed an 8-week success skills curriculum to use with the targeted group.

Step 2: Student Selection

To identify Latino and African-American students who would likely succeed in AP courses, the PSCs used AP Potential (appotential.collegeboard.com/welcome.do), a Web-based program that generates lists of students who are likely to score a 3 or better on an AP exam. The program identifies students based on their scores on the Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test, which have been found to significantly correlate with AP examination scores (College Board, 2007). All 10th-grade students in this school take the test for free, regardless if they are in a college preparatory track or other track. The PSCs then reviewed and compared the list generated by the AP Potential program against those students' course schedules for the subsequent year. To address the issue of possible testing bias and students who did not take the test, the PSCs also identified students based on previous coursework, grades, and teacher recommendations. Students who were not enrolled in AP courses but had met the prerequisite course requirements, and were not deficient in credits toward graduation, were targeted. For this program, the PSCs identified 19 students who met the criterion.

Step 3: Student Group Information Sessions

Before enrolling in AP courses, the identified students participated in informational sessions conducted by the PSCs and support staff. The counselors explained the process of enrolling in AP courses and the difference in expectations between the AP track and the traditional college preparatory track at the school. Additionally, the PSCs described the process of earning college credit by taking and successfully passing the standardized AP examinations. Further, the counselors provided the students with information regarding the college admissions process, including the importance of a rigorous course curriculum in gaining acceptance to competitive universities and colleges.

Step 4: Delivery of Support Services 

Individual student planning. Individual student planning is an integral role of the PSC (ASCA, 2005). Each counselor met individually with his or her students to discuss course options and revise their academic program plan to include AP courses. Students were tracked into the appropriate AP courses for the subsequent year. Additionally, the students were informed about the potential impact that the AP courses would have on their college planning, course selection, and high school status such as class rank and the additional weight added to their grade point average. Students were given the opportunity to express and process their concerns about entering the program and make a decision about whether or not to participate.

Mentoring. Immerwahr (2003) found that a lack of a positive role model with experience in higher education was often a barrier to the educational attainment of Latino and African-American students. Conversely, mentorship experiences may help promote the career and academic self-efficacy of Latino and African-American students. Therefore, the students who participated in this school counseling support program engaged in multiple mentorship opportunities. Latino and African-American leaders in the school, such as assistant principals, coaches, and the school social worker, spoke to the group of students about (a) their struggles in accessing higher education, (b) how they overcame these obstacles, and (c) the importance of a rigorous course of study in their preparation for college. In addition, each identified student participant was paired with a peer mentor. The PSCs obtained recommendations from the AP teachers for Latino and African-American students who could serve as positive role models for the incoming students. The AP mentors spoke to the incoming students about the challenges of being a Latino or African American in courses with primarily majority students and about the differences between traditional college preparatory curricula and AP courses from their perspective. Further, the AP mentors also served as support systems for the incoming students.

Group counseling/psychoeducation. In order to prepare for the AP courses, the incoming Latino and African-American students participated in an 8-week success skills group. The purpose of the group was threefold: (a) to support the students in developing study skills that are necessary to be successful in AP courses, (b) to promote the development of relationships among the students in order to expand their support systems for the subsequent year, and (c) to provide a forum for the students to process their concerns about enrolling in AP. The AP teachers provided valuable input regarding the skills that AP students often need to experience success in their classes and the common strengths that successful AP students have exhibited. The content areas covered during this success skills group included (a) goal setting, (b) organization, (c) time management, (d) note taking, (e) test-taking strategies, and (f) stress management and wellness plans. Many of the activities for this success skills group were adapted from Jensen (2003). The primary goals for the group were to ensure that the students were equipped with the skills necessary to succeed and make the transition from the traditional college preparatory curriculum to AP courses with as little difficulty as possible.

Parental/caregiver engagement. The counselors contacted each student's parents/caregivers individually. The PSCs described the program to them, explained the dynamics of AP, provided them with educational resources, and obtained consent for student participation. Additionally, the PSCs sent informational packets containing AP curriculum descriptions and college and career information to the parents/caregivers. Finally, the PSCs communicated the potential challenges and expectations of the students and encouraged the parents/caregivers to contact the PSC if they had any concerns.

Step 5: Initial Finding

Although this program was not implemented as a research study, the PSCs used Stone and Dahir's (2004) model for school counselor accountability to conduct an initial program evaluation. The PSCs identified a critical data element (i.e., Latino and African-American representation in AP courses) to impact, united the stakeholders to develop and implement the program, and collected baseline data. After implementing the program, the PSCs reanalyzed the data. The results indicated that the projected Latino and African-American representation in AP courses for the subsequent year would increase by 37%. Nineteen students were initially identified for the program. Of those 19, one student transferred schools and two withdrew from the AP courses before the completion of the school year--resulting in a total of 16 students who successfully completed AP coursework. Although the 16 students who participated in the program did not account for the entire enrollment increase, aspects of the program (e.g., stakeholder involvement, student participation) may have influenced more students to enroll in AP courses.

The 16 students enrolled in a total of 25 AP courses and completed a total of 25 AP examinations, resulting in scores ranging from 1 to 5. The distribution of scores included (a) 1 (n = 15, 60%); (b) 2 (n = 6, 24%); (c) 3 (n = 3, 12%); and (d) 5 (n = 1, 4%). In addition, 12.5% of students enrolled in this program scored a 3 or better on an AP examination, which is similar to the overall national average of 15.2% (College Board, 2008) of students scoring a 3 or better on AS' examinations. Therefore, it may be inferred that some of the participating students were successful in obtaining college credit per the AP engagement, while all the students benefited from completing a more rigorous course of study.

Through this intervention, the PSCs brought increased awareness to the teachers, administrators, students, and parents/caregivers of the limited representation of African-American and Latino students in AP courses at this school. Thus, these stakeholders contributed to transforming the system from one that overlooked the underrepresented groups to one that actively encourages and supports these students in aspiring for the most rigorous curriculum. The support for the program was evidenced by the school principal's comment: "The counseling department has taken a proactive role in encouraging and enrolling African-American and Latino students in AP classes. They carefully identified potential students, met with them, motivated them, and the results have been spectacular." Additionally, one participating student noted, "My patents don't speak English, so my education has been left up to me. I've just been coasting. No one ever told me that I was smart enough to take an AP class." Further, a teacher commented, "This is a great program. So often students enter AP unprepared; I can't wait to see the results."

The preliminary program evaluation data supported the merit and effectiveness of this school counseling program's intervention services to promote Latino and African-American students in their AP courses; however, it is important to note that these findings were only based on initial program evaluation.

CONCLUSION

Latino and African-American students continue to be underrepresented in AP courses (College Board, 2007). In addition, these students encounter many potential barriers to their educational attainment and aspirations. However, PSCs as educational leaders are in a unique position to identify these barriers and to advocate for systemic change to support Latino and African-American students' holistic development and success. Further, effective programs need the support of administration, faculty, and support staff. Therefore, PSCs need to collaborate with all stakeholders, both inside and outside of the school system, to design and implement interventions that support the educational attainment of all students and in particular those young people who have been traditionally disenfranchised and marginalized.

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Jonathan H. Ohrt, M.A., is a doctoral candidate in the counselor education program at the University of Central Florida, Orlando. E-mail: [e-mail] Glenn W. Lambie, Ph.D., is an associate professor and school counseling coordinator at the University of Central Florida. Kara P. Ieva, M.Ed., is a doctoral candidate in counselor education at the University of Central Florida.