Effects of Early Acceleration of Students in Mathematics on Taking Advanced Mathematics Coursework in High School

Based on data from the Longitudinal Study of American Youth (LSAY), students were classified into high-, middle-, and low-ability students. The effects of early acceleration in mathematics on the most advanced mathematics coursework (precalculus and calculus) in high school were examined in each category. Results showed that although early acceleration did not promote the majority of accelerated students to participate in the most advanced mathematics coursework in high school, nonaccelerated students were unlikely to pursue the most advanced mathematics coursework in high school at all. Early acceleration helped encourage students from some disadvantaged backgrounds to pursue the most advanced mathematics coursework in high school. Schools mattered to early acceleration, with more incidences of statistically significant variance among schools in taking the most advanced mathematics coursework for accelerated than non-accelerated students.