HIGH-SCHOOL MATHEMATICS COURSE-TAKING BY GENDER AND ETHNICITY

The 1990 NAEP transcript data were used to study the number of Carnegi e units (CUs) earned by students in seven categories of mathematics co urses plus a miscellaneous category. On average, students earned 3.11 CUs, slightly more than the minimum of 3 suggested in A Nation at Risk (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983). Fifty-four pe rcent of the CUs were earned in the standard high school sequence (Alg ebra 1 and 2 and geometry), and 20% were earned in preformal courses ( e.g., General Math 1 and 2). Overall, gender and ethnic differences in the total number of mathematics CUs were small, but ethnic difference s relative to the type of math course represented by the course catego ries were large. Gender differences in mathematics course-taking are d iscussed in light of differences in college attendance patterns and ac hievement variability. Implications of ethnic differences for school a nd curriculum reform are discussed.