八年级数学选课中的种族不平等：校际不平等、本地成绩队列与课程安置

中文摘要

在美国，八年级是进入数学分层选课序列的起点。黑人学生在八年级及以后选修高级数学课程的可能性显著低于白人学生。遗憾的是，既有研究未能对这些种族不平等给出一致的解释。本文构建了一个分析框架，以克服以往研究中的诸多局限。我们的框架揭示了学校之间的种族化分流如何限制选课机会，并塑造学校内部的成绩分布（本地成绩队列），而这两者共同影响特定学校内部课程安置的方式。我们分析了印第安纳州多个八年级学生队列的行政数据。研究发现，八年级数学的选课机会在不同学校之间差异显著，黑人学生相比白人学生更可能就读于不提供任何高级课程（代数或几何）的学校。由于未能考虑这一结构性不平等，既有研究低估了课程安置中的种族不平等。然而，我们的分析同样表明，学校之间的种族隔离改善了黑人学生在本地成绩队列中的位置，从而提高了他们选修高级数学课程的机会。我们的发现凸显了学校作为关键组织单元在解释课程安置中的种族不平等方面的核心重要性。

Abstract

In the United States, 8th grade is the entry point into a stratified course-taking sequence in mathematics. Black students are substantially less likely than white students to enroll in advanced math courses in 8th grade and beyond. Unfortunately, prior research has failed to produce a consistent explanation for these racial inequalities. In this article, we develop an analytic framework that overcomes numerous limitations in prior studies. Our framework shows how racialized sorting between schools constrains course-taking opportunities and shapes achievement distributions within schools (local achievement queues), both of which affect how course placements are made within a given school. We analyze administrative data for multiple cohorts of 8th-grade students in the state of Indiana. Our findings show that course-taking opportunities in 8th-grade math vary markedly across schools, and Black students are much more likely than white students to attend schools that offer no advanced courses (Algebra or Geometry). By failing to account for this structural inequality, prior research has underestimated racial inequality in course placements. However, our analyses also show that racial segregation across schools improves the position of Black students within their local achievement queues, which increases their chances of enrolling in advanced math courses. Our findings highlight the central importance of schools as key organizational units in explaining racial inequality in course placements.