Ready or not, here comes college: A comparative correlation study of college readiness in Black and Hispanic students who take advanced level classes.

The purpose of this study was to investigate how participation in advanced level courses impacts college readiness in students of color, specifically Black and Hispanic students. High school students have a variety of advanced level classes to choose from, including but not limited to: Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), Dual Enrollment (DE), Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE) and Advancement via Individual Determination (AVID) classes. These types of advanced classes not only prepare students for college but also allow them to earn college credit through participation in courses of college level rigor while still in high school. However, the number of students of color enrolled in advanced level classes has historically been substantially lower than that of their White counterparts (Kerr, 2014). Special incentives, grants, and funding have been put in place both at the state and federal levels to increase the number of students of color participating in these advanced classes. AVID is specifically designed to help increase college readiness for the most underrepresented student groups. In the past, the federal government, state policymakers, and companies such as College Board have started programs geared toward increasing AP and IB offerings for disadvantaged students and the number of students who take these courses (Iatarola, Conger, & Long, 2011). As a result of this effort, there has been a rise in participation in AP programs across the country with respect to Black and Hispanic students. This study was conducted to investigate how these advanced level courses impacted the level of college readiness among students of color in the fastest growing school district in Northeast Florida. The researcher aimed to determine if there was a difference in college readiness between students of color who take advanced level classes as opposed to those who do not. The principle purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between Black and Hispanic high school student participation in advanced academics and their college readiness