Improving Equity Through Master Scheduling

A real and measurable gap exists in our country, and our educational system has served to increase this gap. Our system has failed to provide equitable access to advanced coursework for Black and Hispanic students. Implementing a deliberate and strategic system for scheduling high school students will provide historically underrepresented student groups equitable access to college credit and college-level courses. Quantitative research will determine how such an approach impacts high school students at an urban district in the southeastern United States when principals, and principal supervisors, create systems to schedule students equitably.

Clear and present gaps exist in the rate of participation in advanced coursework across student groups in United States public high schools. Both Black and Hispanic students are significantly underrepresented when compared to White students and to their respective overall representation of the student population. The research will determine the scope, cause(s), and impacts this gap has on high school students as measured by their academic success. The study will drill down to specific actions that schools, through their administrative processes, take when designing and implementing their master schedules on an annual basis. This research will examine how principals and principals’ supervisors play a crucial role in shrinking the opportunity gap and aligning school and district resources to strive for and achieve equity.