What Are Lagging Indicators and Why Do They Matter?
Lagging indicators are outcomes connected to major goals and desired results - like graduation rates. They tell us the story of what has happened in the past. They are useful for understanding how the system performs. By evaluating historical data, schools and districts can determine the effectiveness of past strategies, measure the impact of actions or interventions, and communicate transparently with stakeholders about their performance.
The following lagging indicators are signals pointing toward access to advanced coursework:
- High School Advanced Coursework Enrollment
- High School Advanced Placement Enrollment and Students from Low-Income Backgrounds
- High School Advanced Coursework and Diverse Student Populations
- Dual Credit Completion and Students from Low-Income Backgrounds
- Advanced Placement Drop-Off
High School Advanced Coursework Enrollment: What is it and why does it matter?
Advanced coursework enrollment in high school can be measured by student participation in both Advanced Placement (AP) and Dual Credit (DC) coursework. To gain deeper insights, enrollment data can be broken down by various demographic factors, such as race and ethnicity. Disaggregating the data allows for a more comprehensive understanding of enrollment patterns and helps identify any disparities or inequities that may exist among different student groups.
Between 2018 and 2022, the number of students enrolled in Advanced Placement (AP) courses declined across all student groups, but the number of students enrolled in Dual Credits (DC) rose, which aligns with Kentucky’s 2030 Dual Credit Attainment Goal1. Unfortunately, disparities persist as Black and Latino students are less likely than their White peers to participate in both AP and DC programs2.
Figure 1
High School AP and DC Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity
Source: The Education Trust & The Prichard Committee Report on Increasing Access to Advanced Coursework in Kentucky3
Why Does It Matter?
Disparities between Black and Latino students in Kentucky and their White peers are evident in the disaggregated data - Black and Latino students enroll in AP and DC at a much lower rate than their White peers. Data are now available for 2022-23, which shows a slight increase in DC enrollment across all ethnicities and races, and AP enrollment has remained the same.
Where to Find the Data
Data for the past six school years can be found in Kentucky’s School Report Card, made available by the Kentucky Department of Education. Under “Educational Opportunity,” there are three sections on advanced coursework and early advanced learning: “Advanced Coursework,” “Gifted and Talented,” and “Career and Technical Education.” Data can be disaggregated by county/district, school, and demographics.
High School Advanced Placement Enrollment and Students from Low-Income Backgrounds: What is it and why does it matter?
Between 2018 and 2022, AP enrollment declined across Kentucky. In the 2021-22 school year, districts with high percentages - 75% or more - of students from low-income backgrounds4 had only 5% of students enrolled in AP courses. Districts with less than 50% of students from low-income backgrounds experienced a significantly smaller decline in AP enrollment.
Figure 2
High School AP Enrollment and Students from Low-Income Backgrounds
Source: The Education Trust & The Prichard Committee Report on Increasing Access to Advanced Coursework in Kentucky5
Why Does It Matter?
In Kentucky, Black, Latino, and economically disadvantaged students are disproportionately less likely to enroll in advanced coursework, even if their school offers them6. The issue is compounded by the fact that many Kentucky students have additional needs outside of school. On average, 63% of students in a given district come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Furthermore, one (1) in three (3) Kentucky students live in rural areas, with 22.6% of them experiencing poverty - the second highest in the country. Rural Districts face challenges such as funding disparities, limited access to transportation to partner colleges, limited access to broadband, and insufficient staff capacity or qualifications to teach advanced coursework. To overcome declining rates of advanced coursework enrollment across the Commonwealth, it is important to address these challenges.
Where to find the data
Data for the past six school years can be found in Kentucky’s School Report Card, made available by the Kentucky Department of Education. Under “Educational Opportunity,” there are three sections on advanced coursework and early advanced learning: “Advanced Coursework,” “Gifted and Talented,” and “Career and Technical Education.” Data can be disaggregated by county/district, school, and demographics.
High School Advanced Coursework and Diverse Student Populations: What is it and why does it matter?
In Kentucky’s rural districts, enrollment in AP and Dual Credit courses is reflective of the demographics of the student body. White students make up 90% of the student population, 90% of AP enrollment, and 92% of Dual Credit enrollment. On the other hand, there are more glaring racial disparities in advanced coursework enrollment in Kentucky’s city districts, which include more racially diverse counties. In the 2021-2022 school year, Black students made up 33% of the student population in city districts, but only 11% of AP enrollment and 27% of Dual Credit enrollment.
Figure 3
AP and DC Enrollment and Demographics
Source: The Education Trust & The Prichard Committee Report on Increasing Access to Advanced Coursework in Kentucky7
Why Does It Matter?
Across the nation, Black and Latino students experience unequal access to advanced coursework opportunities8. These experiences are also evident in Kentucky’s largest and most diverse cities. Furthermore, Kentucky students who are Black or Latino backgrounds are disproportionately less likely to be in advanced coursework, even when their school offers them9. Using data to identify the barriers for students of color and those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds will enable state and school leaders to implement the right solutions to meet these challenges.
Where to find the data
Data for the past six school years can be found in Kentucky’s School Report Card, made available by the Kentucky Department of Education. Under “Educational Opportunity,” there are three sections on advanced coursework and early advanced learning: “Advanced Coursework,” “Gifted and Talented,” and “Career and Technical Education.” Data can be disaggregated by county/district, school, and demographics. The Ed Trust and the Prichard Committee Report used the city, rural, and town/suburb classification from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD)10. The cities of Owensboro, Bowling Green, Ashland, and Elizabethtown were included as town/suburbs in this analysis, although they are listed as ’City: Small’ in the NCES CCD to differentiate from ‘City: Large’ (Jefferson and Fayette Counties).
Dual Credit Completion and Students from Low-Income Backgrounds: What it is and why does it matter?
Between 2018-19 and 2021-22, while the completion rate for Dual Credit coursework for students in low-poverty11 districts remained stable, the disparity in completion rates between low-poverty and high-poverty districts widened. The gap in completion rates increased from 7% to 9%.
Figure 4
DC Completion and Students from Low-Income Backgrounds
Source: The Education Trust & The Prichard Committee Report on Increasing Access to Advanced Coursework in Kentucky12
Why Does it Matter?
Simply having access to advanced coursework is not sufficient. It is crucial that students not only have the opportunity to learn but also the necessary support to successfully complete advanced coursework with a passing score on the end-of-course exam to earn postsecondary credit. Data from KYStats13 also shows that a considerable proportion of high-poverty districts in Kentucky are in rural areas. These districts often face challenges, such as limited access to qualified instructors and essential educational technology. This points to a need for targeted support, like improved internet infrastructure and specialized teacher training programs, to increase the likelihood that rural high school students will successfully complete advanced coursework.
Where to find the data
Data for the past six school years can be found in Kentucky’s School Report Card, made available by the Kentucky Department of Education. Under “Educational Opportunity,” there are three sections on advanced coursework and early advanced learning: “Advanced Coursework,” “Gifted and Talented,” and “Career and Technical Education.” Data can be disaggregated by county/district, school, and demographics.
Advanced Placement Drop Off: What is it and why does it matter?
All Kentucky school districts, regardless of income background makeup, experienced a significant drop in access, completion, test-taking, and qualifying scores in AP coursework during the 2018-2019 and 2021-2022 school years. It is referred to as the “AP Drop Off”. Access is the enrollment or participation rate in AP coursework, completion refers to the percentage of students that completed the course, test-taking is whether the student took the AP Exam, and qualifying score refers to whether the student received at least a score of 3 and above on the AP Exam.
Figure 5
Source: The Education Trust & The Prichard Committee Report on Increasing Access to Advanced Coursework in Kentucky14
Though we see the same dip across the board in enrollment and success in AP coursework for all districts, there is a significantly greater drop for students from districts with a high percentage of students with low-income backgrounds. From 2019-2022, districts with more students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds struggled the most to enroll students into AP courses, have them complete AP courses, take AP exams, and earn qualifying AP scores. Kentucky has a leaky pipeline for success in AP coursework, especially for students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
Why Does It Matter?
In Kentucky, there's a discrepancy between the number of students enrolled in Advanced Placement (AP) courses and those who take the AP exams. This indicates a test-taking gap where some students who complete the coursework do not sit for the exams. As a result, they miss out on the opportunity to earn college credits. Additionally, among the students who take the AP exams, there is another drop-off between those who achieve scores eligible for college credit and those who do not achieve qualifying scores.
Access is just one piece of the puzzle. It is not only important to ensure that all students have opportunities to enroll in advanced coursework, but also vital that they have the necessary support to complete the course, take the exams, and earn qualifying scores (and, therefore, postsecondary credit). Furthermore, addressing this issue means ensuring that underrepresented students and those from economically disadvantaged districts receive tailored support, empowering them to confidently approach AP exams and access the benefits of postsecondary education.
Where to find the data
Data for the past six school years can be found in Kentucky’s School Report Card, made available by the Kentucky Department of Education. Under “Educational Opportunity,” there are three sections on advanced coursework and early advanced learning: “Advanced Coursework,” “Gifted and Talented,” and “Career and Technical Education.” Data can be disaggregated by county/district, school, and demographics.
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