Dropping out of advanced mathematics: How much do students and schools contribute to the problem?

Research on mathematics achievement has paid relatively little attention to exposure - the amount of instruction received by students and the number of courses they take. This study employs data from 6 waves of the Longitudinal Study of American Youth to discern when and why students drop out of advanced mathematics. The findings indicate that there are two critical transitions when large proportions of students drop out of advanced mathematics. The first is from Grade 8 to Grade 9, and at this point prior achievement plays a more important role than either attitude towards mathematics or socioeconomic status. The second transition is from Grade 11 to Grade 12, when students' attitude towards mathematics is the most important factor. The findings support calls to raise mathematics standards for graduation and to enrich the content of mathematics courses.