The Path Through Math: Course-taking and Performance at the Intersection of Gender and Race/Ethnicity.

This paper considers race/ethnic differences in the formation of math trajectories within high school separately by gender, to examine the extent to which experiences and outcomes are clearly delineated by race/ethnicity, or gender, or both. The analyses utilize data from the new Adolescent Health and Academic Achievement study (AHAA), the high school transcript study that is a component of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (AddHealth). The results indicate that compared to their white male peers, African American and Latino males receive less of a benefit from beginning high school in Algebra I, in terms of the amount of advanced math they take by the end of high school. Yet minority girls receive the same positive returns to taking Algebra I as their female peers. Additionally, while minority male students have lower grades, this does not explain nor diminish the lower returns they receive to early placement. The results underscore some progress on behalf of minority females, while at the same time highlighting the particular academic disadvantages suffered by minority males. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]