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Using 2020–2024 course data and performance measures, advanced courses are defined by course titles containing “Advanced,” “Advanced Placement,” “AP,” or “IB.” Results show EL students are less likely than non-EL students to enroll in advanced coursework, yet EL and non-EL students who take at least one advanced course show higher ACT composite scores. Strong associations are also found between advanced course enrollment and ELPA21 performance.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & 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Nebraska  \nJuly 2025  \nKey Findings:  \n• From 2020 to 2024, an average of 3.97% of all courses offered in Nebraska were classified as advanced.  \n• Relationship between advanced course enrollment and students’ ACT performance.  \n• Relationship between advanced course enrollment and students’ELPA21 performance.  \nPrevious studies have shown the importance of advanced course enrollment in high school in improving academic performance, college enrollment, and persistence. Additionally, a 2016 report by our agency looked specifically at advanced course enrollment on the academic performance of English Learner (EL) students. This brief replicates that 2016 study, using the same methodology and using the same data sources to describe the relationships between EL students’ performance on the ACT and ELPA21, and advanced course enrollment in high schools across Nebraska.  \nThe NDE still does not have an official, operationalized definition of “advanced course”However, related information can be inferred from course titles. Again, for the purposes of this study, advanced courses are identified as those with titles containing the terms “Advanced,”“Advanced Placement,” “AP,” or “IB.” The percentage of advanced courses offered for the years 2020 – 2024 is displayed in Table 1. Based on this definition, about 3.97% of all courses offered are classified as advanced.  \nTable 1. Advanced courses from 2020 to 2024.  \n\n| Course | 2020-\u003Cbr>21 | 2021-\u003Cbr>22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| % of Courses at Advanced Level | 4.06% | 3.89% | 3.99% | 3.92% |\n\nSince the 2016-17 academic year, the ACT has been administered to all 11th-grade students in Nebraska public schools as the statewide assessment. Additionally, ELPA21 has been administered for EL students as the comprehensive English Language proficiency assessment since the 2015-16 academic year. Data used for this analysis includes ACT scores (Composite, ELA, Science and Math), ELPA21 scores, and class-taking information from school years 2020-  \n21 through 2023-24 . The analysis results indicate strong associations between advanced course enrollment and performance in the ACT and ELPA21 assessments.  \nSpecifically, the results show:  \n➢ The proportion of EL students who took at least one advanced course was lower than non-EL students. The average percentage of EL students who took at least one advanced course from 2020 to 2024 was 2.8% while that of non-EL students was 17.2% .  \n\n| 20.0%\u003Cbr>18.0%\u003Cbr>16.0%\u003Cbr>14.0%\u003Cbr>12.0%\u003Cbr>10.0%\u003Cbr>8.0%\u003Cbr>6.0%\u003Cbr>4.0%\u003Cbr>2.0%\u003Cbr>0.0% | Student Groups with >= 1 Advanced Course\u003Cbr> 17.9% \u003Cbr>16 8% 17.0% 17.1%\u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>2.9% 2.5% 2.9% 3.0% \u003Cbr>2020-2021 2021-2022 2022-2023 2023-2024 |\n| --- | --- |\n|  EL Student  Non-EL Student |  |\n\nFigure 1. Percentage of students who took at least one advanced course from 2020 to 2024.  \n➢ Numbers of advanced courses taken by student groups were also examined. Among the students who took at least one advanced class, EL students took fewer advanced courses than non-EL students from 2020 to 2024 . Figure 2 shows the trends of the average number of advanced courses taken by EL and non-EL students across years.  \n\n| 3.5\u003Cbr>3\u003Cbr>2.5\u003Cbr>2\u003Cbr>1.5\u003Cbr>1\u003Cbr>0.5\u003Cbr>0 | Average \\# of Advanced Classes (min. 1)\u003Cbr>2.9 2.88 2.94\u003Cbr>3.05\u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>2.19 2.11\u003Cbr>2.07\u003Cbr>2.12\u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>2020-2021 2021-2022 2022-2023 2023-2024 |\n| --- | --- |\n|  EL Student  Non-EL Student |  |\n\nFigure 2. Average number of advanced courses taken by student groups from 2020 to 2024.  \n➢ In general, EL students showed lower performance on the ACT composite score than non-EL students. However, regardless of EL status, students who took at least one advanced course had higher ACT composite scores than students who did not. Table 2 and Figure 3 show detailed information about ACT composite scores across years by student groups.  \nTable 2. Average ACT co","cbCaiaWsKHZYnRD3","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiaWsKHZYnRD3","pdf",474229,13,"English","# Key Findings\n## Defining “Advanced Course” and Course Share (2020–2024)\n## Advanced Course Enrollment Gaps: EL vs Non-EL\n## Performance Results: ACT Composite Scores\n## ELPA21 Performance and Enrollment in Advanced Courses\n## Appendix Tables and Figures References","[{\"question\":\"How are “advanced courses” defined in this analysis?\",\"answer\":\"Courses are classified as advanced when course titles include “Advanced,” “Advanced Placement,” “AP,” or “IB.”\"},{\"question\":\"What does the analysis show about advanced course enrollment for EL students versus non-EL students?\",\"answer\":\"EL students take at least one advanced course at a lower rate than non-EL students from 2020 to 2024, and EL students take fewer advanced courses among those who enroll.\"},{\"question\":\"How does advanced course enrollment relate to students’ performance on ACT and ELPA21?\",\"answer\":\"Students who take at least one advanced course show higher ACT composite scores than students who do not, and students who enroll in advanced courses also perform better on ELPA21.\"}]","An Analysis of Advanced Course Enrollment and Performance among English Learner (EL) Students in Nebraska | PDF",1792057659,33]