<p> Advanced Placement curricula have become significant components of instruction for high school students in the United States, consuming resources and shaping education in ways that affect high school students both within and outside the AP classroom. Educational research has documented significant gaps in educational equity for some demographic groups and substantial advantages for others. Peer reviewed literature exploring the relationship between the level of educational challenge offered within a school and educational equity within the same school is quite limited. In the absence of the appropriate research, planners and policy makers cannot properly evaluate whether educational strategies emphasizing rigorous instruction, such as is found in AP curricula, would help to address the racial gap in equity, contribute to that gap, or have no effect on educational equity. </p><p> The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the relationship between the size of a school&rsquo;s program to provide college-level instruction and the racial equity of that program. Quantitative methods were used to answer this question in a single Mid-Atlantic state, using the relative size of each high school&rsquo;s Advanced Placement program, per graduating senior, as an indicator of the size of the school&rsquo;s program to provide college-level instruction to its students. Racial equity was measured by comparing the relative numbers of AP exams per Black or Hispanic graduating senior with the corresponding numbers for all other seniors in the school. Additional qualitative data analysis investigated trends in student choice of AP exams. </p><p> Quantitative statistical tests found no statistically significant relationship between the size of a high school&rsquo;s AP program and the rate of Black or Hispanic participation in that program, or between changes in the size of a high school&rsquo;s AP program and changes in the rate of Black or Hispanic participation in that program. This neutral result implies that educational leaders can deal with AP planning and with educational gaps among subgroups of students as separate issues rather than as interrelated topics. Qualitative explorations identified several trends, including an apparent general decrease in the proportion of AP exams taken in English and Mathematics as the size of a school&rsquo;s AP program increases and an apparent changes in the proportions of certain exams, including an increase in the proportion of Science exams taken in Environmental Science, an increase in the proportion of Mathematics exams taken in Statistics, and a decrease in the proportion of Science exams taken in Biology for schools with larger AP programs.</p>

<p> Pressure has been put on educators to increase the achievement of all students, yet the primary emphasis has been put on moving low-performing students toward base proficiency instead of improving the proficiency of all student groups (Baum, Renzulli &amp; Hebert, 1995; Colangelo, Assouline &amp; Gross, 2004; DeBray &amp; Blankenship, 2013; Xiang, Dahlin, Cronin, Theaker &amp; Durant, 2011). Additionally, educational leaders are increasing the push for students to be engaged in rigorous academic courses, oftentimes without appropriate support for either the students or staff (Cleaver, 2011; Plucker, Giancola, Healy, Arndt &amp; Wang, 2015; Schaps, 2005; Smarick, 2013; VanderArk, 2014; Walton &amp; Spencer, 2009). </p><p> The goal of this study was to examine the support systems provided for students in advanced academic programs and their level of academic success. By examining not only student populations, but also the educators that may be providing support, a unique opportunity is created to compare and determine the outcome through multiple lenses. In order to explore this topic, surveys were created containing both open and closed-ended questions on the views of academic, emotional and social support provisions as well as future planning and effectiveness of all support areas. Surveys and semi-structured follow-up interviews were conducted with three participant groups; alumni, administrative personnel, and teachers. Triangulation of information was accomplished with the use of additional statistical tests which were performed to determine the relationship between support and student success. </p><p> Quantitative results determined that there was no correlation between any of the four support areas and student success. However, qualitative results disagreed with the statistical results and provided rich information on not only the view of support that was provided, but also the areas of concern and frustration for all three participant groups.</p><p>

<p> Challenging problems require transdisciplinary, novel solutions. Equity demands that all students receive appropriate services to develop talents and potential, however, poverty limits opportunity. According to the National Association for Gifted Children (2017), approximately 6% to 10% of all students exist within the gifted and talented range. A specific subset of this demographic, underrepresented gifted and talented (UGT) student fail to receive appropriate access to develop their creativity and leadership potential. Grounded in the Human Ecology Theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1979), this case study argues that talent development requires arts education to enrich and support UGT students. Application of a qualitative case study, design process allowed authentic interviews of professionals working in the fields of gifted and talented education, fine art, elementary education, and student advocacy to develop. The themes and opinions regarding equity, UGT students, and arts education discovered in this study provide salient recommendations for the academic community. </p><p>