This study assesses the excellence gap by examining those who enroll in advanced, honors, and advanced placement (AP) classes among a low-income and a majority-Latinx population. Prospective longitudinal data come from a diverse, urban sample (N = 32,885) where 82.2% of the students received free or reduced price lunch. We examined numerous predictors (i.e., demographics, school readiness skills, prior academic competence) for eventual enrollment in an advanced course (middle school advanced, honors in middle and high school, and AP courses in high school) via multivariate logistic regression analyses. Results suggest that demographic factors (socioeconomic status, ethnicity, English-language learner status) often played a smaller role in advanced course enrollment after controlling for school-entry skills and prior academic competence with the exception of AP courses, where demographic effects persisted. Implications include targeted early intervention to get qualified students in poverty enrolled in academically advanced courses.

这项研究通过检查那些在低收入和多数拉丁裔人口中参加高级，荣誉和高级分班（AP）课程的人，来评估卓越差距。前瞻性纵向数据来自不同的城市样本（N= 32,885），其中82.2％的学生获得了免费或减价的午餐。我们通过多元logistic回归分析检查了众多预测变量（即人口统计学，学校的准备能力，先前的学术能力），以最终考入高级课程（中学高级，中学和高中的荣誉以及高中的AP课程）。结果表明，人口因素（社会经济地位，种族，英语学习者地位）在控制了入学技能和先前的学术能力后，通常在高级课程入学中的作用较小，但AP课程除外，因为AP课程会持续影响人口。这意味着有针对性的早期干预，以使合格的贫困学生入学学术高级课程。