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AP Enrollment Disparity
Enrollment disparity is calculated by analyzing the racial composition of AP courses relative to the general racial composition of enrolled students. This shows whether a group is enrolled in AP at higher or lower rates than expected based on its share of students. The higher the value, the greater the disparity.
How it's calculated
The disparity value is a ratio of the percent of white students in AP courses to the percent of minority students in AP courses. A proportionally higher percentage of white students yields a value greater than 1, and a proportionally higher percentage of minority students yields a value less than 1.
How it's classed
Once the disparity values are calculated, the no-data and no-disparity areas are omitted, leaving only areas with a value greater than 1 (areas with disparity). These remaining areas are then sorted into 5 classes by putting 20% of areas into each bin. The 20% of areas with the lowest disparity go into the first class, the 20% of areas with the next lowest disparity go in the second class, and so on.
Analysis & Metrics
All datasets are harmonized to a common district-year structure and aligned using NCES district identifiers where available for the years 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2020, and 2021. School-level information is summarized at the district, state, and national levels to show aggregate AP Enrollment Disparities and compare averages over time. Our metrics are defined as follows:
High school enrollment: Total enrollment across all high schools (grades 9-12).
AP participation: Total number of students enrolled in at least one AP course.
AP participation rate: Percentage of the total enrolled high school students enrolled in at least one AP course.
Racial/ethnic composition: Percentage of the total enrolled high school students identifying in each racial group. For the purposes of this interactive, we focus on Black and Hispanic students.
Percent non-white: Percentage of the total enrolled high school students not identifying as white (i.e., 1 – percent white).
Teachers (FTE): Total number of full-time equivalent teachers.
Students per teacher: The number of students per full-time equivalent teacher.
AP course availability: Typical number of AP courses offered by schools in a district/state. This is calculated as the statistical mode of AP courses across schools.
Limitations
There are several important limitations to this analysis:
- These measures are designed to highlight systemic differences in AP participation, not individual outcomes. A high disparity does not necessarily indicate an intent or policy that systematically limits access, but it does indicate unequal participation rates that warrant further investigation.
- Aggregated data at the district-level or state-level averages may mask substantial within-district variation.
- A significant number of “No Data” values at the district level limits the interpretability of state-level aggregate values.
- All data are self-reported; schools or districts may report inaccurate or incomplete values.
- Some subgroup estimates may be small or unstable, which may lead to unreliable or inflated disparity metrics.
- In some cases, total district enrollment is used instead of high school enrollment.
Data Sources
The data in this interactive is derived from the following:
- Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC)
Provides school- and district-level data on student enrollment, AP participation, and demographic breakdowns by race and ethnicity. - Common Core of Data (CCD)
Supplies contextual district information, including enrollment totals and staffing (e.g., teachers). - Geographic Boundaries (EDGE / NCES)
Provides geographic boundaries for districts. For the purposes of this interactive, 2022 boundaries were used. Many districts in NCES datasets do not have a geographic boundary identified; these districts are included in the analysis but do not appear on the map.