Serving American Native American Students

Serving American Indian Students
Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education
The Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) is a public, interstate
agency established to promote and facilitate resource sharing, collaboration, and cooperative
planning among the Western states and their colleges and universities. Member states are:
Alaska Idaho Oregon
Arizona Montana South Dakota
California Nevada Utah
Colorado New Mexico Washington
Hawaii North Dakota Wyoming
WICHE?s broad objectives are to:
Strengthen educational opportunities for students through expanded access to programs.
Assist policymakers in dealing with higher education and human resource issues through
research and analysis.
Foster cooperative planning, especially that which targets the sharing of resources.
This publication was prepared by the Policy Analysis and Research unit, which is involved in
the research, analysis, and reporting of information on public policy issues of concern in the
WICHE states. While many individuals contributed to the production of this report, the
views and opinions and any errors or omissions are solely the responsibility of the author.
This report is available free of charge online at: http://www.wiche.edu/Policy/WCALO/
Publications.htm.
For additional inquiries, please contact Caroline Hilk at (303) 541-0224 or chilk@wiche.edu.
Copyright ? April 2004 by the
Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education
P. O. Box 9752
Boulder, Colorado 80301-9752
Telephone: (303) 541-0200
An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer
Printed in the United States of America
Publication Number 2A349
April 2004
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................................... v
Foreword................................................................................................................................... vii
Executive Summary .................................................................................................................... ix
Serving American Indian Students: Participation in
Accelerated Learning Opportunities .......................................................................................... 1
Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 1
Rationale and Methodology ................................................................................................. 2
Findings ............................................................................................................................... 3
Access ....................................................................................................................................... 3
Participation .............................................................................................................................4
Issues and Challenges ............................................................................................................ 5
Policy Considerations .......................................................................................................... 6
Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 10
Discussion of Relevant Research .............................................................................................. 12
Background ................................................................................................................................... 12
Purpose and Method .......................................................................................................... 12
Discussion of Research Topics .......................................................................................... 13
Educational Achievement and Outcomes .................................................................. 13
Native Language and Culture ..................................................................................... 14
Educational Resources ................................................................................................ 15
Educational Standards and Assessments ..................................................................... 16
Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 17
Endnotes ................................................................................................................................... 17
References ................................................................................................................................. 20
Serving American Indian Students
April 2004
Acknowledgements
This report is the result of research, numerous conversations, and the generosity of
people sharing their resources, perspectives, values, and beliefs. In this regard,
appreciation is extended to the parents, students, and community leaders who lent
their voices to this study, without whom we would not have been able to capture the
voice of the American Indian communities. Additionally, the school personnel who
agreed to be anonymously interviewed for this study were invaluable in providing
further insight on their work and their institution?s.
Appreciation is extended to the members of the Western Consortium for Accelerated
Learning Opportunities (WCALO) Working Group for their commitment to this
initiative and the information and resources they provided. Members of the
WCALO Working Group are:
Kathleen Mollohan, Advanced Placement administrator, Montana Office of
Public Instruction.
Peter Laing, former gifted education consultant, Arizona Department of
Education.
Tonya Drake, former assistant executive director, Academic & Student Affairs,
Arizona Board of Regents.
I also extend sincere gratitude to the WICHE staff, including Cheryl Blanco, David
Longanecker, Demar? Michelau, and Caroline Hilk, as they have been beyond
supportive and patient. In addition, I would like to thank Candy Allen and Annie
Finnigan for their exceptional work in editing and formatting this report. Finally, a
special thank you goes to Eleanor Hubbard, a colleague, who provided invaluable
assistance to me in the completion of this report.
Funding for WCALO is provided by the U.S. Department of Education?s Advanced
Placement Incentive Program (APIP), and special acknowledgement goes to
Madeline Baggett, APIP project officer, for her interest and commitment to this
study.
v
Serving American Indian Students
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vii
Foreword
Accelerated learning opportunities, such as the College Board?s Advanced Placement (AP)
Program, International Baccalaureate (IB), and concurrent or dual enrollment programs, are
designed to introduce high school students to a college curriculum that may allow them to
earn college-level credit. Among the benefits of a challenging curriculum are increased
academic preparation for college, fewer students enrolled in postsecondary remedial
education, and a potential head start on earning college credit.
Too often, however, low-income and minority students are not afforded the same
opportunities to enroll and succeed in these programs as their middle- or high-income
majority counterparts. There tends to be a large disparity in access to and participation in
academically challenging courses; although the percentage of students from ethnic minority
groups participating in AP has risen in recent years, these groups still remain
underrepresented. Among the ethnic minority groups most severely underrepresented in AP
courses are American Indian students; their participation in AP courses is lower than any
other ethnic minority group in the U.S.
This study is designed to address this critically important issue by examining American
Indian student participation in AP programs and other accelerated learning opportunities and
develop a context for understanding American Indian student access and participation in
several Western states.
Sponsoring this study is the Western Consortium for Accelerated Learning Opportunities (WCALO), a
cooperative effort administered by the Colorado Department of Education and the Western
Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE). Funded by the U.S. Department of
Education?s Advanced Placement Incentive Program (APIP), WCALO is a partnership
involving nine states ? Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon,
South Dakota, and Utah ? whose purpose is to increase the successful participation of lowincome
students in advanced placement courses and examinations.
David E. Longanecker
Executive Director
Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE)
Serving American Indian Students
viii
April 2004
ix
Executive Summary
Accelerated learning opportunities, such as the College Board?s Advanced Placement (AP)
Program, International Baccalaureate (IB), and concurrent or dual enrollment programs,
expose high school students to a college curriculum that may allow them to earn collegelevel
credit. Among the benefits of a challenging curriculum are increased academic
preparation for college, fewer students enrolled in postsecondary remedial education, and a
potential head start on earning college credit.
A disparity of access to and participation in accelerated learning opportunities, however, is
seen across historically underrepresented ethnic minority and economically disadvantaged
students, including American Indians. In fact, American Indian student access to and
participation in AP courses is lower than that of any other ethnic minority group in the U.S.
As part of the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education?s (WICHE) project,
Western Consortium for Accelerated Learning Opportunities (WCALO), funded by the Advanced
Placement Incentive Program (APIP) within the U.S. Department of Education, this study
examines American Indian student participation in accelerated learning opportunities.
Organized into two sections?a report on the findings with policy considerations and a
discussion of relevant research?the study is designed to develop a context for understanding
American Indian student access to and participation in accelerated learning programs in
several Western states.
To determine whether American Indian students participate in accelerated learning
opportunities, and how successfully, a study of seven states ? Arizona, Colorado, New
Mexico, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, and South Dakota ? was conducted. The study was based
primarily on site visits and interviews of students, teachers, counselors, parents, and
community educators in 15 public high schools serving high proportions of American Indian
students on or near Indian reservations. Of the schools selected, seven were on Indian
reservations and eight were near Indian reservations. These schools served tribal
communities that include Navajo, Hopi, Zuni, Ute, Pueblo, Apache, Northern Cheyenne,
Crow, Flathead, Salish Kootenai, Blackfeet, and Assiniboine. The interviews centered on
access, participation, and issues and challenges facing American Indian students.
The findings of this study are consistent with those of other studies conducted on American
Indian education. Access to an accelerated curriculum, like AP courses, is minimally available
to American Indian students; participation in AP is limited and fraught with failure; and
American Indian communities are concerned about larger educational issues beyond the
participation of their children in AP programs. This does not minimize the need for many
accelerated learning opportunities, such as IB and concurrent or dual enrollment programs
for American Indian students; but it emphasizes the importance of putting these findings into
the larger context of American Indian education.
The following policy considerations are offered to assist schools and districts with building
effective programs that produce high achievement with American Indian students leading to
successful participation in AP and accelerated learning programs.
To prepare all American Indian students to be high achievers, elementary, secondary, and
college educators should articulate and implement clearly aligned learning goals that
intentionally guide American Indian students and lead to high achievement.
To encourage more parental involvement and better community-school relationships,
state policy should support equitable partnerships between schools, parents, and the
American Indian community.
Serving American Indian Students
x
To better educate all children and integrate culturally based curriculum and culturallearning
models into school curriculum and programs, including accelerated learning
opportunities, state policy should support opportunities for understanding AP
curriculum within a holistic and cultural framework for learning.
To profile the actual experiences of American Indian students in diverse Indian
community settings, states should collect disaggregated data to monitor disparity among
all student groups for entry and completion of AP courses and generate complementary
data, such as case studies or portfolios.
To strengthen teaching and learning leading to high achievement among American Indian
students and the closing of the achievement gap, states should develop and support
ongoing professional development for all teachers.
To help American Indian students achieve at high levels, states should expand incentives
designed to increase the number of American Indian students in AP and accelerated
learning programs, strengthen programs that support and build capacity for teachers
teaching in AP programs, and develop data tracking and data collection systems that
provide benchmarks for improvement in these areas.
The second part of the report?the discussion of relevant research?examines the current
body of research on American Indian student participation in accelerated learning programs
and is organized around four major research topics on American Indian and Alaska Native
education: educational achievement and outcomes; Native language and culture; educational
resources; and educational standards and assessments. Since virtually no research literature
exists specific to the topic of American Indian student participation in AP programs, this
discussion examines American Indian education as it relates to American Indian and Alaska
Native student achievement.
American Indian education is an important issue in the West, where there are a majority of
Indian reservations that have significant political ties to federal and state governments. In
developing initiatives to strengthen AP and accelerated learning programs, attention should
be given to the fundamental issues and concerns raised in this study.
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Introduction
This study examines American Indian student participation in Advanced Placement (AP)
programs and other accelerated learning opportunities.1 It is designed to develop a context for
understanding American Indian student access to and participation in AP programs in several
Western states. To conduct a study on any aspect of American Indian education requires an
understanding of its unique history, its specific context, and the complexity of its political,
social, economic, and cultural issues.
The history and experience of American Indian and Alaska Native education has been tied to a
long history of federal policy for American Indian and Alaska Native peoples.2 As educators
and policymakers grapple with inequities in American Indian education, they must recognize
and consider the many issues faced by American Indian peoples and address their concerns,
recommendations, and involvement. Only in recent history have the voices of American
Indian people been recognized as legitimate in defining American Indian education. As a
result, American Indian education is no longer defined through a cultural-deficit model in
which culture is a barrier, but rather through a model in which culture is seen as a strength
and an asset.
Maintaining a cultural identity and preserving the cultures of American Indian tribes are
highly important, as each generation changes, becoming more highly acculturated and
assimilated to mainstream American culture. American Indian people and their nations
acknowledge these transitions and understand the value of education, maintaining goals for
their children to graduate from high school and succeed in college. Tribal nations recognize
the need for future generations of leaders who are able to live and work in mainstream society
while also contributing to building and strengthening their tribal communities, meeting
community needs for teachers, lawyers, doctors, engineers, scientists, and other
professionals.
The discussion of relevant research in the second part of this report generally indicates a
severe lack of research and data about American Indian education. Increasing numbers of
American Indian educators, however, are conducting research studies and developing strong
recommendations for American Indian education. Several themes, reflecting priorities and
key issues, consistently emerge in more recent research reports conducted by American
Indian educators. They include the following.
Educational achievement of American Indian students needs to be strengthened, with
outcomes clearly defined to assure academic achievement and attainment and to reflect
the culturally based educational goals of the tribal communities from which students
come.
Integrating American Indian language and culture to strengthen educational achievement
is necessary and highly important to American Indian people for cultural survival.
Adequate and appropriate educational resources are needed to create dynamic learning
environments for American Indian students. Resources range from qualified teachers and
transportation to challenging curricula and adequate classroom materials.
Standards-based reform and the changes taking place in schools significantly impact
American Indian students and should be used to improve their education and hold
schools accountable for providing the programs and support necessary for American
Indian children to achieve.
As American Indian educators and researchers increasingly contribute to the field of
American Indian education, their concerns will be addressed and recommendations
followed. It is important to understand that American Indian education is unique and
different than mainstream American education. The status borne out of early treaties, U.S.
federal Indian policies, and the self determination and cultural survival of American Indians
Serving American
Indian Students:
Participation in
Accelerated Learning
Opportunities
Serving American Indian Students
2
has to be recognized and considered. Any educational movement or initiative that may impact
American Indian education requires critical examination of its intention and involvement of
American Indian people in the process. Much more current research and data collection is
needed to inform American Indian educational policy and practice. The orientation of
research on American Indian education should be based on success and self determination. As
schools and states build educational programs that strengthen Native student educational
success, the complex context has to be considered. More research is certainly needed at the
secondary level to better reflect the success of American Indian high school graduates and
their postsecondary attainment.
This study examines one segment of American Indian education that pertains to the
participation of students in AP programs. Although this report offers valuable information on
the issues and unique circumstances facing American Indian students in AP programs, it is
important to keep in mind that the limited scope of this review also limits its applicability.
For example, this study focuses on American Indian students in the lower 48 states; thus its
findings may not be relevant to Alaska Native students, particularly given the comparatively
remote communities in which many of them live. Furthermore, this study focuses on formal
Advanced Placement, which means that the efficacy for American Indian students of other
accelerated learning opportunities, such as the International Baccalaureate and concurrent or
dual enrollment programs, is not examined. While inferences can logically be drawn, and
often are, it should be kept in mind that these may or may not be borne out in true
experience.
Rationale and Methodology
The purpose of the College Board?s AP Program is to introduce students to a college
curriculum that allows them to earn college-level credit while still in high school through
AP courses and exams that have a high academic standard. AP courses are intended to improve
students? skills and build confidence in their ability to succeed in college. The disparity of
access to and participation in more academically challenging courses, like AP, is seen across
historically underrepresented ethnic minority student populations, including American
Indian and economically disadvantaged students. The College Board reports that in 2002 the
percentage of students from ethnic minority groups has increased; but these groups still
remain underrepresented in AP courses.3
American Indian student access to and participation in AP courses is lower than that of any
other ethnic minority group in the U.S. According to the College Board?s data of minority
ethnic groups taking AP exams from 1979 to 2002, less than 1 percent of American Indian
students take AP exams.4 There are between 300,000 and 400,000 American Indian and Alaska
Native children of school age. Of these children, between 85 and 90 percent are educated in
public schools.5 Yet these students, on average, tend to take less rigorous classes, are less
likely to graduate from high school, and if they do graduate are less likely to go on to college.
Less than 10 percent of American Indian and Alaska Native students take college preparatory
math, and 30 percent take no math at all. Almost one-third do not enroll in a science course.
Only 60 percent of American Indians graduate from high school, compared to 75 percent in
the America population as a whole. And only 17 percent of American Indians and Alaska
Natives enroll in college, less than half the national average. As a result, many opportunities
for college preparation have been closed to American Indian students, who often are marked
for remediation programs rather than for mainstream classes, let alone advanced ones.6
To determine whether American Indian students participate in accelerated learning
opportunities, and how successfully, a study of seven states ? Arizona, Colorado, New
Mexico, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, and South Dakota ? was conducted.
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Although a general body of research indicates disparity in access and participation of minority
students and economically disadvantaged students in AP courses, there is limited research
specifically on American Indian student participation. As a result, this study was conducted
primarily through site visits and interviews. Students, teachers, counselors, parents, and
community educators in 15 public high schools serving high proportions of American Indian
students on or near Indian reservations were interviewed. Since at the time of this study most
of the states were not systematically collecting comprehensive or disaggregated data on AP
programs in high schools, high schools were identified by their location on or near Indian
reservations or via state or school personnel, including American Indian education specialists
and American Indian Advisory Committee members. Of the schools selected, seven were on
Indian reservations and eight were near Indian reservations and served a high number of
American Indian students. These schools served tribal communities that include Navajo,
Hopi, Zuni, Ute, Pueblo, Apache, Northern Cheyenne, Crow, Flathead, Salish Kootenai,
Blackfeet, and Assiniboine.
The interviews were all conversations and focused on the following questions:
Access ? Does your school offer AP courses and opportunities to take the AP tests?
Participation ? How many American Indian students take AP courses and tests? How
are students recruited into these courses? What are the academic requirements needed to
take AP courses? How successful are students in completing and passing the courses and
taking the tests? Does taking AP courses make a difference to a student ? how so or why
not?
Issues and Challenges ? What factors challenge or become barriers to successful
participation in AP programs (socioeconomic, cultural)? What factors are supportive?
Cultural sensitivity to different communication approaches and the awareness of skepticism
of yet another person doing a study on Indian people was important to the process. The
findings reflect both the quantitative dimensions and the qualitative nature of this study.
Additional information collected by the College Board on AP exams taken by race and
ethnicity in each state and data collected from state departments of education and the state
higher education executive offices were used to provide a broader state context and regional
profile for the study.
Findings
The findings of this study are consistent with those of other studies conducted on American
Indian education. Access to AP courses is minimally available to American Indian students;
participation in AP is limited and fraught with failure; and American Indian communities are
concerned about larger educational issues beyond the participation of their children in AP
programs. This does not minimize the need for many accelerated learning opportunities,
such as concurrent or dual enrollment and IB programs for American Indian students; but it
emphasizes the importance of putting these findings into the larger context of American
Indian education.
Access
Schools serving high populations of American Indian students offer either no AP programs or
courses or a very limited number of AP courses. In the rare instances where a full AP
program is offered, very few American Indian students participate. Since there are almost no
AP courses available in schools serving high populations of American Indian students, it is
not surprising that very few American Indian students participate in these courses.
Additionally, many access issues for American Indian students are tied to the comprehensive
Serving American Indian Students
4
issues concerning all of American Indian education (see the Issues and Challenges section
below for a full discussion). The aspirations of high-achieving American Indian students, like
those of low-income and rural students in general, are unfulfilled, usually due to the few
educational resources available to them. In addition, for students who do have access to AP
courses, family educational resources, including the level of education of parents, can
contribute to lowered expectations.
Schools that participate in state initiatives to strengthen AP programs tend to have higher than
usual numbers of American Indian students taking AP courses. Although no exemplary
programs serving American Indian students were identified, some states participating in
initiatives like the WCALO project have been able to increase the number of schools offering
AP programs and to strengthen existing AP programs. For example, New Mexico is
developing a comprehensive AP initiative that is impacting programs in schools serving
American Indian students. Although the numbers of participating students have not reached
parity, they do represent an increase. The state has developed AP data tracking and collection
systems that provide needed information to address issues of access. New Mexico?s efforts
are significant, given that most states do not collect disaggregated data on high school AP
programs.
Participation
The number of American Indian students taking AP courses is disproportionately low
compared to White students. American Indian students generally are not academically
prepared to take AP courses. Even those who are better prepared academically often lack
confidence in their ability to succeed. Many American Indian students in AP courses indicate
that the classes are too difficult for them, and they are concerned about failing. A majority of
American Indian students taking AP courses either do not take the exam or do not pass it.
Teachers indicated that 80 percent or more of the students who take the exam fail (this
number is not statistically verifiable).
There are a few exceptions to these findings, however. The students who are performing well
in AP classes feel that they are being challenged. In a few exceptional cases, students took AP
courses, passed the exams, and used the credits for college entrance. These exceptional
students were academically prepared, understood how AP courses benefited their college
entry, and had strong parental support. Those American Indian students who succeeded and
often excelled in AP courses demonstrated that success required not only individual ability
and persistence but also the development of school and family resources.
Some students who are enrolled in AP courses feel that they have been recommended for
these classes because they are socially outgoing and participate in extracurricular activities
rather than because of their academic performance. These students do not perform well in AP.
However, the problem is systemic rather than individual ? the system seems to set these
students up for failure ? and it reflects the need for professional development, greater
academic expectations, well-developed requirements, and better student academic
preparation.
Summer enrichment programs that take students away from their local communities have
played a major role in providing academic support and opportunities for them to experience a
college campus environment. Although the academic quality of these programs varies, they
have served a significant purpose. High-achieving students tend to participate in summer
academic programs like Indian Upward Bound, math and science enrichment camps
sponsored by colleges and universities, and the American Indian Science and Engineering
Society (AISES). Both parents and students believe that any summer academic opportunity is
key to their continued academic success, especially for students who are in schools with few
educational resources.
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Issues and Challenges
In addition to concerns regarding access and participation, there were many other issues and
challenges raised by those interviewed for this study. They include the following.
Parental Involvement: Parents are concerned about how well their students are doing in AP
courses, honors classes, or gifted programs but often are given few opportunities to express
that concern or to be more actively involved in their children?s learning and in schools. Both
professional educators and the parents themselves understand that a more active role for
parents in supporting students in AP courses is crucial to student success. Parents of
American Indian students do not feel that they are being included in decision-making about
their students or in how the school accommodates their children.
College Orientation: Orientation for parents and students to AP programs, college
requirements, and admission processes is woefully lacking. Parents need more information
about college preparation and the admission process, particularly when ACT or SAT exams
will be given. Most importantly, parents must become equal partners with the school in
setting educational goals, in tracking student progress, and in creating an environment where
student success is expected.
Availability and Quality of Gifted Programs: Parents are concerned about the availability and
quality of gifted programs, as well as other accelerated learning programs for gifted students.
Parents recognize that high achieving students? educational needs are not being adequately
met. Parents assume that AP courses are for ?gifted? students. The term ?gifted? in this
context is used as an umbrella term to mean any high-achieving student and may not be
consistent with how the term is used in educational communities. Whether the language is
technically accurate or not, what the American Indian community is concerned with is
improving K-12 education for all children as well as gifted students.
Early Opportunities: College preparatory opportunities and courses for all students must
occur early in a student?s education. Emphasis on college does not occur until students are
juniors or seniors and usually occurs about the time that they begin thinking about taking the
ACT and SAT exams? too late for intervention or increased preparation.
Cultural Sustainability: Parents, tribal leaders, and community members all are concerned
with the loss of language and culture among young American Indian students. This is a major
concern among parents and community members, even in schools where AP programs are
more successful. In some areas, this is a highly contentious issue dividing schools and
communities.
Community-Based Problems: Parents and tribal leaders are concerned about community-based
problems, such as drugs and other substance abuse, alcoholism, and youth gangs. All of these
problems interfere with quality education and good community and family life.
Interrelated Issues: Both parents and tribal educators are concerned about student achievement,
health and wellness issues, disabilities, school environment, and quality education for all
American Indian students. They feel that these issues must be addressed comprehensively to
support student achievement and targeted education programs such as AP.
Teacher Preparation: The quality of teacher preparation to teach AP courses and the lack of
subject-area specialists impact AP course offerings, instruction, and student achievement.
School Accountability: All public schools serving American Indian students need to be held
more accountable for dropout and success rates of these students. They also must be able to
track their American Indian students? progress in postsecondary education.
Negative Stereotyping: Negative stereotyping of American Indians results in low expectations
for students in some communities and schools. This has serious consequences for American
Indian students? self-esteem and learning. An extensive discussion of the negative social
Serving American Indian Students
6
impact of prejudice, discrimination, and White privilege on American Indian student success
is beyond the scope of this study, but it can not be ignored either. Other problems in the
schools are White curricular ethnocentrism, low school responsiveness to American Indian
community involvement, poor teaching techniques, and lack of school accountability.
Educational discrimination in the form of cultural bias in standards and testing are part of the
problem.
The failure of schools to proactively reach out to involve the American Indian community in
enhancing college readiness, poor teaching from often ill-prepared teachers, and the lack of
school accountability all contribute to a sour atmosphere that hampers American Indian
students? ability to succeed in accelerated learning programs, such as that provided through
the AP program.
Policy Considerations
In this study, unwavering commitment to support successful American Indian student
achievement and to close the achievement gap between American Indian students and other
populations of students is a priority. The following six considerations are offered to assist
schools and districts with building effective programs that result in high achievement among
American Indian students leading to successful participation in AP and accelerated learning
programs.
To prepare all American Indian students to be high achievers, elementary,
secondary, and college educators should articulate and implement clearly aligned
learning goals that intentionally guide American Indian students and lead to high
achievement.
A major reason American Indian students do not participate in AP courses and/or take AP
exams is poor academic preparation, beginning early in elementary school and becoming
exacerbated as students progress through middle and high school. Unless comprehensive
action that involves a coordinated effort at all educational levels is taken, expecting increased
student participation in AP programs is unrealistic. Recognizing the unique educational
needs of American Indian students, state-based AP initiatives could become major catalysts in
advocating higher quality education, school/state accountability, and improved student
performance. Aligning these activities to ensure student success, however, will require the
collaboration of many levels of educators, including state departments of education, state
higher education executive offices, school districts, and colleges and universities.
Possible strategies include:
Prepare and support all students to achieve at high levels early in elementary and middle
school through exposure to advanced curriculum and motivational frameworks for
learning.
Ensure that American Indian students gain successful levels of competencies in basic
academic subject areas (i.e., mathematics, reading, and writing) beginning in elementary
grades and continuing through middle and high school.
Coordinate continuous conversations and planning between elementary and high school
teachers and college faculty and administrators at all levels, leading to high achievement
for American Indian students.
To encourage more parental involvement and better community-school
relationships, state policy should support equitable partnerships between schools,
parents, and the American Indian community.
Parents? involvement in their children?s education strengthens student performance, schools,
April 2004
7
and ultimately communities. Parents understand the need to be involved in schools and want
to be; however, little opportunity is provided for their involvement in academic and other
school policy matters. Parental participation often takes the form of parent committees who
advise principals and schools but have no power for decision and policymaking. American
Indian parents are concerned and assertive about school policy issues and academic
opportunities for their children. They provide links to other community-based entities and
to tribal education. Developing processes for parents to be involved at the schools and as
members of boards of education is critical.
A primary role parents have is to motivate and support their children academically. Parents
who do not have high school or college-level education do not always have the educational
resources to assist their students with homework or give them accurate advice. Often these
parents are unaware of the academic requirements for high school graduation and college
preparation or the process for applying to college, including applying for financial aid.
Strengthening American Indian student participation in AP programs requires strengthening
parents? roles and their capacity to academically support their children. Letting parents know
about the role that AP courses and tests have in college preparation is important. States could
provide funding opportunities and incentives for the development of programs to support
creative parent-school partnerships and initiatives related to AP programs and other college
preparatory efforts.
Possible strategies include:
Develop ways to involve families at every level of the public school and provide
opportunities for them to actively engage the school community.
Involve parent representatives in school policy meetings regarding academics and AP, as
well as other accelerated learning opportunities.
Enable equitable partnerships between schools and parents in setting educational goals,
in tracking student progress, and creating a school and home environment where student
success is expected.
Develop programs aimed at strengthening parents? ability to support students?
educational development and to motivate them.
Provide well-planned orientations to AP programs and other accelerated learning
opportunities for parents and students.
Provide information to parents and students about college requirements and admission
processes early in students? high school experience. Dates to take ACT and SAT exams
should be publicized throughout the community.
To better educate all children and integrate culturally based curriculum and
cultural-learning models into school curriculum and programs, including
accelerated learning opportunities, state policy should support opportunities for
understanding AP curriculum within a holistic and cultural framework for learning.
Many of the issues and concerns that parents and tribal leaders expressed could and should be
addressed within a holistic approach to accelerated learning. To recap, parents and tribal
leaders want all of their children to be academically challenged; they want their ?gifted?
children to receive special learning opportunities; they want the problems of the American
Indian student, including substance abuse and youth gangs, to be addressed in the schools;
and most importantly, they want the schools to assist them in teaching their children
American Indian culture and languages. This is a huge task, including evaluating curriculum
for White ethnocentrism and creating new curriculum or rewriting it with more culturally
appropriate courses. This task requires vision, expertise, and hard work. Local schools cannot
do this task alone, nor can American Indian educators. American Indian and other
professional educators need to engage in ongoing conversations with local and regional
Serving American Indian Students
8
Indian organizations in order to create regular and accelerated learning curricula that meet the
needs of Indian students. This is an enormous task, given the diversity of Indian cultures.
Possible strategies include:
Develop values for achievement that reflect an integration of American Indian cultural
values and mainstream American educational success.
Develop relevancy between academic subject matter, cultural and community values,
postsecondary educational opportunities, and career development.
Work with the American Indian communities for assistance in integrating cultural
content, community relevance and service, and tribal values and practices.
Evaluate curricular offerings for mainstream American ethnocentrism and work to create
a more culturally significant curriculum for American Indian students.
Create opportunities whereby American Indian and White professional educators work
together to make changes in curriculum used by schools with predominant American
Indian populations.
To profile the actual experiences of American Indian students in diverse Indian
community settings, states should collect disaggregated data to monitor disparity
among all student groups for entry and completion of AP courses and generate
complementary data, such as case studies or portfolios.
Developing data systems and collecting data, as well as developing complementary forms of
assessment, such as case studies or portfolios, are essential tasks in support of this goal. Using
multiple, alternative forms of assessment better assists in capturing and interpreting the
complexity and diversity of American Indian education. Building a culture of evidence and
developing a comprehensive understanding of the experiences of American Indian students in
schools and their participation in educational programs like the AP program will better
inform states and schools and lead to responsive systemic change. These types of assessment
can also be used to leverage school improvement and school reform in the climate of the
federal No Child Left Behind Act.
Possible strategies include:
Systematically identify and use multiple assessments that evaluate student skills and
experiences in various ways and that do not reflect cultural bias.
Develop data tracking and data collection systems that provide good information about
American Indian participation in accelerated learning programs.
Track dropout and success rates for American Indian students, as well as progress in
postsecondary education. Report these rates to the community on a regular basis.
Acknowledge and celebrate student achievements and school success in the community.
To strengthen teaching and learning leading to high achievement among American
Indian students and the closing of the achievement gap, states should develop and
support ongoing professional development for all teachers.
Strengthening teaching and learning is key to the success of American Indian education in
several capacities. To teach American Indian students, teachers must be knowledgeable in
their subject area, highly interdisciplinary, motivational, cross-culturally competent, able to
develop relationships with students and parents, and have an understanding of the
communities within which they work. They must be able to work with a range of learners
and learning styles, language differences, cultural differences, and learning disabilities, as well
as to deal with problems such as alcohol and drug abuse, as their effects spill into the
classroom. The demands on teachers require continual professional development and in-
April 2004
9
service time to strengthen teaching and service. Problems on American Indian reservations
and in rural areas with teacher shortages, incompetent teachers, a lack of teachers with
sufficient content knowledge, unmotivated teachers, racism, and other factors all impact
education in general and the possibility of developing accelerated learning programs in
particular. Preparing teachers to work on American Indian reservations or in schools near
reservations with American Indian student populations should be a state priority and should
be reflected in the curriculum of schools of education and the required licensure to teach.
Possible strategies include:
Provide professional development so that teachers can strengthen their subject matter
knowledge.
Provide professional development that prepares teachers for working with American
Indian students and with communities and cultures other than their own.
Provide professional development that strengthens teachers? knowledge and
competencies in pedagogical frameworks for motivation, learning, and assessment.
Recognize the importance of dynamic teachers and counselors who can support schoolfamily-
community relations and who will encourage students to participate in summer
academic and college preparatory work.
To help American Indian students achieve at high levels, states should expand
incentives designed to increase the number of American Indian students in AP and
accelerated learning programs, strengthen programs that support and build
capacity for teachers teaching in AP programs, and develop data tracking and data
collection systems that provide benchmarks for improvement in these areas.
Although the argument is being made for addressing American Indian education in general,
there still exists a need to increase American Indian student participation in AP programs.
States participating in WCALO are beginning to address many of the issues raised around
access, participation, and capacity building in schools and states. These efforts will impact
American Indian participation, but ultimately, an effort targeted to the particular needs of
American Indian education will be required.
Possible strategies include:
Expand statewide incentives designed to increase the number of American Indian
students taking AP courses and exams.
Expand statewide initiatives specifically designed to strengthen teaching capacity for
teaching AP courses and working with American Indian students.
Target high schools on and off reservations serving American Indian students to develop
pre-AP and AP programs.
Identify high schools serving high populations of American Indian students to develop
and pilot unique and creative pre-AP and AP programs.
Improve recruitment and follow-up of American Indian students who attend summer
enrichment programs and connect them to accelerated learning programs.
Serving American Indian Students
10
Conclusion
The participation of American Indian students in accelerated learning programs like
the AP program remains disheartening, even more so as one considers the larger
historical and contemporary context of American Indian education. The many
challenges facing American Indian people and Native tribes are increasing at
alarming rates as the complexities of the world increase. For many American Indian
people, education is seen as critical to both cultural and economic survival. In order
to fully participate in and benefit from American education, American Indian people
have to be highly involved in defining and designing education from planning and
policy development to curriculum development and teaching. The idea that good
schools and good teaching make the difference may not fully address the problems
of American Indian students. Rather, intentional initiatives and deliberately focused
efforts are required to meet the unique educational needs of this population.
This study focusing on the participation of American Indian students in AP
programs was framed around three major concerns: access; participation; and issues
and challenges. The summary of findings supports the fact that there are unique
educational issues in American Indian education, but also offers insight in addressing
access and participation in AP programs.
Access to quality AP programs and academic preparation is a problem. The number
of American Indian students taking AP courses is disproportionately low compared
to the number of White students. Furthermore, American Indian students generally
are not academically prepared to take AP courses. Preparation needs to be addressed
early, in elementary and middle school, where attention to academic preparation
should be deliberate and designed to track all students into high-potential learning
programs. The quality of AP programs and the quality of teaching impacts access as
well as successful participation. Lack of competent teachers in subject areas, as well
as the lack of resources, support, and infrastructure, all affect access. Parents have
few ways to be involved in schools and limited capacity to assist their children?s
education. Yet parents are highly concerned about education and want to be
involved. They see education as a holistic process that includes family, culture, and
community health. The strong belief that education should serve to strengthen the
community is often at odds with the American values of education, which promote
individual success and competition. Parents are aware that, to be involved, they need
more information about and resources on schools and educational practices; at the
same time they feel they have much to offer as well.
Language and culture are critical to the education of American Indian students. Every
tribal community views this issue as cultural survival and sees the role of schools as
extremely important in assisting cultural sustainability. American schools typically
work to assimilate Indian children into American culture and have little relevancy to
native culture and community. Education is critical to Indian people; but it needs to
serve the dual purpose of equipping students for survival in mainstream society and
helping them maintain their cultural identity.
Racism and biased stereotypes about American Indian people are still prevalent.
Misperceptions about American Indian families and communities lead to selfesteem
and identity issues, a sense of failure, a lack of strong expectations, and other
problems. Schools cannot assume that times are better for Indian people and
children when many images, movies, mascots, textbooks, social attitudes, and beliefs
maintain racist views of Indian people. Strong efforts to counteract racism and dispel
stereotypes need to occur regularly.
April 2004
11
Finally, school accountability processes that evaluate school performance and outcomes in
educating American Indian students are critical. School accountability should include
accountability to the communities that the schools serve. The policy trends in mainstream
American education can provide an opportunity to improve American Indian education if
they deliberately target the unique concerns of American Indian education. Too many policies
and task force efforts on American Indian education have come and gone with no
comprehensive results.
American Indian education is a very important issue in the Western states, where there are a
majority of Indian reservations that have significant political ties to federal and state
governments. Very often, the American Indian student population is considered so small that
it is grouped with other populations, usually Hispanics. This practice of aggregated data does
not provide the type of evidence needed for an in-depth study of American Indian education,
nor does it fully tell the story. In developing initiatives to strengthen AP programs and
accelerated learning opportunities, and when creating other educational improvement efforts
as well, attention has to be given to the fundamental issues and concerns raised in this study.
Serving American Indian Students
12
Background
Developing a research agenda for American Indian and Alaska Native education is a complex
and challenging process. While such an agenda is critically needed to improve educational
achievement, it remains subjected to a long history of federal Indian education policy.
Educational research has been ?on? American Indian education rather than ?for? American
Indian education, creating a discourse that focuses on a cultural-deficit model and on the
failure to succeed or assimilate in the dominant society. Two recent reports call for an active
American Indian and Alaska Native education research agenda that addresses American Indian
education issues and moves research into practice: they are American Indian and Alaska Native
Education Research Agenda, commissioned by a federal interagency task force under the U.S.
Department of Education; and Developing a New Research Agenda for American Indian and Alaska
Native Education, prepared by a group of Indian educators at a research conference sponsored
by the Catching the Dream organization.7
Both reports identify similar priority research topics. They reflect the needs, concerns and
voices of the diversity of American Indian and Alaska Native tribes, communities, and
parents. These groups are demanding quality education and the successful participation of
their children in the educational process, as well as an education that contributes to
strengthening their cultural lives and communities. The multiple issues that must be
understood and addressed by schools in order to meet these challenges are complex. Within
this complexity, the participation of American Indian students in Advanced Placement (AP)
programs, or lack of it, can be examined.
Purpose and Method
The purpose of this discussion of relevant literature is to examine the current body of
research on American Indian student participation in accelerated learning programs, such as
AP, and the social and cultural factors affecting their participation. Virtually no research
literature exists specific to the topic of American Indian student participation in AP
programs, so a more comprehensive discussion of American Indian education is examined as
it relates to American Indian and Alaska Native student achievement.
The discussion is narrowed to the research literature that supports the issues and concerns in
the two educational research agenda reports mentioned above. These reports reflect
American Indian and Alaska Native people determining their educational needs and calling
for research and educational strategies that will be effective in integrating cultural strengths
with academics in order to improve student academic preparation. American Indian and
Alaska Native researchers stress the importance of better national research and data collection
that moves from a deficit model to a success model; they also emphasize the notion that
academic preparation of American Indian and Alaska Native students for postsecondary
attainment should consider their unique educational status and history.
This discussion of relevant research is organized around four major research topics on
American Indian and Alaska Native education: educational achievement and outcomes;
Native language and culture; educational resources; and educational standards and
assessments. These topics have been identified in the research agenda reports as ones that
impact American Indian student achievement and college preparation.
Literature and information was gathered from the Educational Resources Information Center
(ERIC) database, the Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small Schools, the Bureau of
Indian Affairs? Office of Indian Education, journals on American Indian education, TRIO
program reports (Upward Bound), organizational publications and reports (Education Trust,
College Board, American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES), Education
Development Center, Regional Education Laboratories), and other sources, including
Discussion of Relevant
Research
April 2004
13
bibliographies and conversations with individuals at state departments of education and state
higher education executive offices.
The study of American Indian student preparation calls attention to the need to better prepare
American Indian and Alaska Native students for the rigor of college academics and
encourages students to participate in college preparatory classes. The extent to which high
schools are preparing American Indian and Alaska Native students for college is dismal. In a
recent study surveying 16 Western states, only 17 percent of Indian students were enrolling in
college; less than 10 percent of Indian students were taking college preparatory math; and 30
percent were taking no math at all. Almost one-third of Indian students were not enrolled in a
science course and only 1 percent were enrolled in AP classes. Many opportunities for
college preparation were closed to Indian students, who were often marked for remediation
programs instead of mainstream or advanced classes.8
Discussion of Research Topics
The following section is a discussion of the four major research topics on American Indian
and Alaska Native education: educational achievement and outcomes; Native language and
culture; educational resources; and educational standards and assessments.
Educational Achievement and Outcomes
American Indian and Alaska Native people and their nations value education and maintain
goals for their children to graduate from high school and succeed in college. Tribal nations
recognize the need for future generations of leaders who are able to live and work both in
mainstream society and contribute to building and strengthening their tribal communities,
meeting the community needs for teachers, lawyers, doctors, engineers, scientists and other
professionals. According to the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES),
?Indian people want their children to value their culture and traditions, but they also want
their children to have basic academic competencies and subject-matter knowledge. Among
the critical issues for American Indians is how to reconcile Indian spiritual values and formal
education.? 9
The tension that exists between the schools American Indian and Alaska Native peoples
reflects not only the history of schooling of Native people but also contemporary Native
peoples? struggle to sustain their culture and simultaneously successfully live in mainstream
American society. The assimilation agenda of American schooling has continuously
threatened Native peoples? cultural survival and, ironically, is now more important than ever
for cultural survival. The possibilities for addressing the problems in American Indian
education are to be found in Indigenous paradigms of education that integrate cultural ways of
knowing with mainstream academics.10 American Indian and Alaska Native educators have
been voicing their concerns over the failure of American schooling to seriously address
Native education. They assert the future work of education must be based on cultural survival
in two worlds ? the Indian world and that of mainstream society. And education must be
based on American Indian and Alaska Native sovereignty and self-determination.
American Indian education values a holistic, lifelong learning that benefits the people and
their communities and ensures spiritual survival. Schooling in the United States is based on
individualism and competition that prepares students to leave their communities and
compete in American society.11 American Indian and Alaska Native students, whether they
live in urban centers or on reservations, have not succeeded in American schools, whose
values and purpose are culturally incongruent with their cultures. Research suggests that the
average American Indian or Alaska Native student tends to demonstrate lower achievement
levels than members of other groups. National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
results for fourth graders show that American Indian and Alaska Native students score below
Serving American Indian Students
14
basic levels in reading and math.12 Other differences exist between the American Indian and
Alaska Native population and the general population in educational attainment. Using
enrollment data and diploma counts collected by the U.S. Department of Education?s
Common Core of Data (CCD), the graduation rate of American Indian students today is 54
percent, compared to 70 percent for White students.13 American Indian and Alaska Native
students are less frequently college bound, and their SAT and ACT scores are lower than
national norms.14
While the statistics convey a dismal picture, researchers have found that that American Indian
and Alaska Native students can perform as well as members of other groups under certain
conditions. Students appear to do particularly well in situations where students? culture is
valued or where Native parents are actively involved. In one study on motivation, Navajo
students placed a high value on education, finishing high school and going on with further
education.15 Despite high dropout rates, poverty, lack of motivation, and other impediments
to success, there was a substantial group of successful students. Students in the study who
perceived their futures as related to the value of school had greater intention of completing
schooling despite indicators of cultural differences.16 Research shows that some students
with cultural backgrounds different from the school they attend realize they can work well in
two cultures, that of the school and that of the home. Adopting strategies for school success
does not necessarily mean acculturation to broadly based White values.17
The question of who defines educational achievement and outcomes is important in
determining the success of American Indian and Alaska Native education. In the decades
following World War II, American Indian and Alaska Native leaders fought for legislation to
protect their rights to self-determination.18 With the successful passage of the Indian
Education Act of 1972 (P.L. 92-318 as amended) and the Indian Self-Determination and
Education Assistance Act of 1975 (P.L. 93S638), a new era began in American Indian education.
The past three decades have seen a variety of efforts to restore and revitalize Native languages
and cultures through the schools.19 Through such efforts, a growing number of Native
students have the opportunity to use Indigenous knowledge and language to meet both local
and Western education goals.20 This both/and paradigm supports an educational approach that
values both Native and Western knowledge.21
Concurrent with this movement to connect Native and Western culture has been a
reevaluation of what is considered appropriate academic knowledge.22 Research conducted in
Alaska with Yup?ik Eskimo students found that rural Yup?ik students outperformed students
from an Alaskan regional center on a test of practical knowledge.23 Yup?ik elders, researchers,
and teachers have demonstrated how to connect practical and cultural knowledge to a
school?s math curriculum.24 Exemplary programs integrating cultural-based knowledge into
mainstream education have advanced American Indian education, and although improvements
are still needed, a growing number of schools have dramatically improved academic
achievement among Native students.25 Education programs incorporating Native culture and
values are important attributes of today?s American Indian education programs and will
continue to be the preferred direction of American Indian education.26
Native Language and Culture
Native people see the role of Native languages and cultures as crucial to cultural survival and
to contemporary education. This need is consistently raised in American Indian and Alaska
Native education agendas. In recent years, many American Indians and Alaska Natives have
been actively seeking ways to preserve and revitalize their cultural heritages and establish
their distinctness from the dominant American cultural orientation.27 The challenge to this
agenda is the increasing diversity of American Indian people and where they live. There are
over 500 Indian tribes in the United States today, and they differ in language, economic and
governmental systems, history, traditional customs, and religious beliefs.28 In addition to
April 2004
15
these major differences between tribes, the complex and continuously evolving relationship
of Indian peoples with the majority society has resulted in great diversity of cultural
orientations among members of individual tribes as well.29 A continuum exists between a
very traditional orientation to Indian cultural values and practices at one extreme and the
complete assimilation into a mainstream American cultural orientation at the other extreme.
Most American Indian people function somewhere between these two extremes, and none
have completely avoided being affected by the dominant American culture.30 Many are
beginning to forge new cultural identities that include knowing and valuing both traditional
and current ways.31
Educators and parents assert two views about the proper role of Native language and culture
in schools. The first perspective centers on the notion that in situations where the schools
serve predominantly Indian students and are possibly Indian controlled, American Indian
language and culture should be pervasive and structure the overall education experience to
reflect local ways of knowing. The second is that in schools where Indian students are not in
the majority, American Indian and Alaska Native students? cultural identity, histories, and
lived experiences should be respected and included in the curriculum as a part of the
multicultural agenda.32
Educational research has established that Native culture and language are essential in Native
children?s acquisition of knowledge and high academic achievement.33 The importance of
culture as a contributing factor to student performance and positive engagement in the
classroom is well-documented.34 A significant factor in the academic underachievement of
American Indian and Alaska Native students is suggested to be a result of the incompatibility
of their cultural values with their experiences in mainstream classrooms.35 Native educators
and parents who want students to succeed academically share some mainstream educational
values that are embedded in the educational system. Both the mainstream educational goals
and the contributions of home culture should be integrated to facilitate academic
achievement.36
Today, many American Indian and Alaska Native communities are employing a both/and
approach in their school systems. Research indicates that exemplary schools that integrate
both Native and Western approaches to education meet two of three of the following criteria:
The program involves community/tribally controlled schools.
The program uses Indigenous culture and language.
Students must show a significant and measurable gain in academic achievement.37
Schools that nurture bilingual and bicultural perspectives have shown improvements in
learning environments and academic success.38 By providing place- and community-based
curriculum and instruction, teachers can provide students with relevant, practical, and
motivating education where learners can actively participate in shaping their own education.39
Educational Resources
Adequate and appropriate educational resources are needed to create dynamic learning
environments for American Indian and Alaska Native students. Resources that range from
qualified teachers to adequate transportation, from curricula to classroom materials, have
been an ongoing challenge in American Indian and Alaska Native education. Unfortunately,
most American Indian and Alaska Native students receive inferior education, partly as a result
of inadequate educational resources in schools or on reservations.
Better-prepared teachers and increased numbers of Native teachers are the most critical
needs. Many non-Native teachers lack adequate preparation to teach in culturally different
settings, especially on Indian reservations. Too often, they have very little contact with the
communities in which they teach and lack understanding of the culture of the students, and
Serving American Indian Students
16
may even hold negative stereotypes of American Indians and Alaska Natives. The lack of
Native teachers, especially adequately prepared ones, remains problematic. The rate of
teacher turnover is high due to a host of problems, including isolation in rural areas.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics? Schools and Staffing Survey, less than
0.8 percent of the nation?s public school teachers are American Indians or Alaska Natives
(compared to about 1.1 percent of the students). They are less likely than White or African-
American teachers to have advanced degrees or certificates and are more likely to be in their
first 10 years of teaching. According to D. Michael Pavel, ?The quality of students?
educational experiences is determined, in large part, by the learning environment principals
and teachers create. The need for Native educators who can serve as positive role models and
catalysts for improvement in administration and teaching is ongoing.?40 Schools serving high
percentages of American Indians and Alaska Natives need to increase the number of American
Indian and Alaska Native administrators and teachers who are tribally enrolled.41 Widely
accepted strategies to improve American Indian and Alaska Native student learning outcomes
include increasing the number of Native teachers and increasing the number of teachers,
Native as well as non-Native, who are properly trained to meet the needs of Native
students.42 Teachers? knowledge of Native language and culture can positively influence
schools, students, and communities.43
Educational Standards and Assessments
Standards-based reform and the changes taking place in schools are significantly impacting
American Indian and Alaska Native students. American Indian and Alaska Native students are
facing an unprecedented series of tests to determine their levels of proficiency at local, state,
and national levels. Standards-based reform efforts can help improve American Indian
education with new standards and assessments, but only if schools are held accountable and
the blame for poor performance is not placed on the students.44 The literature suggests that
educational reform should be systematically and intentionally designed to meet the needs of
Native students. As new or alternative assessments are developed, the effort to improve
cultural relevance must involve parents and tribal community members.45
Educators concerned about standards-based reform argue that schools will focus on teaching
to the tests and the problems in American Indian education will continue. According to
Cornel Pewewardy, ?All of the restructuring in the world will be of no benefit to children if
the philosophy, theory, assumptions, and definitions are flawed or invalid. Native educators
and parents know the problems and their causes.?46 Native educators have long raised the
questions of cultural bias in testing and cultural exclusion in testing. The following
questions, raised by Native educators at the ?Developing a New Research Agenda for
American Indian and Alaska Native Education? conference in 2000, signal the concern and
attention needed to be given to standards and assessment:
Were content and performance standards developed with the input of American Indian
and Alaska Native people?
Were standards and assessment systems reviewed and approved by American Indian and
Alaska Native educators?
What is the relationship between parents and the community?s views of success and
standards and assessment systems?
How do schools, parents, and communities divide responsibilities to produce successful
students?
Are standards meaningful for students to survive in two worlds?
Do standards include student skills to sustain community?
April 2004
17
Research and lessons learned in the effective schools research initiative of the Office of
Indian Education Programs and the Goals 2000: Educate America Act have resulted in school
reform and in curriculum and assessment improvement in Bureau of Indian Affairs?
supported schools. The ?Learning Record? assessment, adopted as a new assessment system
and now being implemented, has the opportunity to provide new insights to improve cultural
relevance of curricula and assessment.47 E.T. Estrin and S. Nelson-Barber assert, ?Many
Native students are thriving in programs that are based on culturally responsive curriculum,
instruction and assessment. And ? fortuitously ? the current climate of reform provides all
of us an opportunity to reexamine old assumptions and develop new bases of knowledge
from which to re-create instruction and assessment.?48
Conclusion
As American Indian and Alaska Native educators and researchers increasingly contribute to
the field of American Indian and Alaska Native education, issues, concerns, and needs of
American Indian and Alaska Native peoples, tribes, and communities will be better met. It is
important to understand that American Indian and Alaska Native education is unique, and
different from mainstream American education. This fact, borne out in treaties, U.S. federal
Indian policies, and the survival of American Indian and Alaska Native peoples, has to be
recognized and considered.
Any educational movement or initiative that may impact American Indian and Alaska Native
education requires a critical examination of its intention and requires involvement of Native
peoples in the process. Much more research and data collection is needed to inform
educational policy and practice, and the orientation of educational research of American
Indian and Alaska Native education should be based on success and self-determination. As
schools and states build educational programs that strengthen Native students educational
success, the complexity of the issues minimally addressed in this discussion of relevant
research needs to be considered. More research is needed at the secondary level to better
reflect the success of American Indian and Alaska Native high school graduates and
postsecondary attainment.
Endnotes
1 Although this study does not clearly delineate the various accelerated learning opportunities, questions
were asked in the larger context of accelerated learning as well as specific Advanced Placement
programs.
2 Although in the discussion of relevant research, American Indian and Alaska Native people?s
education are connected, this report does not examine Alaska Native people?s access to or participation
in Advanced Placement; thus it will refer exclusively to American Indians.
3 See the College Board?s Advanced Placement Web Site at http://www.collegeboard.org/ap/index.
4 See the College Board?s Advanced Placement Web Site at http://www.collegeboard.org/ap/index.
5 Indian Nations At Risk Task Force, An Educational Strategy for Action: Final Report of the Indian
Nations at Risk Task Force (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, 1991), ERIC
Document Reproduction Service ED 343753.
6 Dean Chavers, Indian Students and College Preparation (2002), ERIC Documentation Reproduction
Service ED 464770.
7 ?Catching the Dream, Developing a New Research Agenda for American Indian and Alaska Native
Education,? National Indian Education Research Agenda Conference, Albuquerque, NM, May 2000
(Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Federal Interagency Task Force, American Indian
and Alaska Native Education Research Agenda, 2001), ED 462216.
8 Chavers.
9 American Indian Science and Engineering Society, ?Educating American Indian/Alaska Native
Elementary and Secondary Students? (Boulder, CO: American Indian Science and Engineering Society,
1995).
Serving American Indian Students
18
10 Gregory Cajete, ?Look to the Mountain: An Ecology of Indigenous Education? (Durango, CO:
Kivaki, 1997).
11 Cajete.
12 National Assessment of Educational Progress, average scale scores, by race/ethnicity, grades 4 and 8:
1990?2003 < http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/reading/results2003/raceethnicity.asp> < http://
nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/mathematics/results2003/raceethnicity.asp>.
13 Jay Greene and Greg Forster, Public High School Graduation and College Readiness Rates in the United
States (New York, NY: Manhattan Institute, Center for Civic Innovation, 2003).
14 Karen Gayton Swisher and John W. Tippeconnic III, Next Steps: Research and Practice to Advance Indian
Education (Charleston, WV: ERIC/CRESS, 1999).
15 Dennis M. McInerney and Karen Gayton Swisher, ?Exploring Navajo Motivation in School
Settings,? Journal of American Indian Education 34, no. 3 (1995), 1-17.
16 McInerney and Swisher, 1-17.
17 John G. Ogbu, ?Understanding Cultural Diversity and Learning,? Educational Researcher 21 (1992),
5-14; John G. Ogbu, ?Minority Status and Schooling in Plural Societies,? Comparative Education Review
27 (1983), 168-190; John G. Ogbu and M. E. Matute-Bianchi, ?Understanding Sociocultural Factors
in Education: Knowledge, Identity, and Adjustment in Schooling? in Beyond Language: Social and
Cultural Factors in Schooling Language Minority Students, from the California State Department Bilingual
Education Office (Sacramento, CA: California State University-Los Angeles, Evaluation,
Dissemination and Assessment Center, 1986), 73-142.
18 Jon Reyhner, Changes in American Indian Education: A Historical Retrospective for Educators in the United
States (Charleston, WV: ERIC/CRESS, 1989), ERIC Document Reproduction Service, ED 314228.
19 William G. Demmert Jr., Improving Academic Performance Among Native American Students: A Review of
the Research Literature (Charleston, WV: ERIC Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small Schools,
2001).
20 Donna Deyhle and Karen Gayton Swisher (1997), ?Research in American Indian and Alaska Native
Education: From Assimilation to Self-Determination,? in M. W. Apple (ed.), Review of Research in
Education 22 (Washington, DC: American Educational Research Association, 1997), 113-194; Swisher
and Tippeconnic, Next Steps; Tarajean Yazzie, ?Culturally Appropriate Curriculum: A Research-based
Rationale,? in Swisher and Tippeconic, Next Steps, 83-106.
21 Jerry Lipka and Teresa McCarty, ?Changing the Culture of Schooling: Navajo and Yup?ik Cases,?
Anthropology & Education Quarterly 25, no. 3 (1994), 266-284.
22 Jerry Lipka, ?Schooling for Self-determination: Research on the Effects of including Native
Language and Culture in Schools? (ERIC Digest, 2002), EDO-RC-010-12.
23 E. L. Grigorenko, E. Meier, Jerry Lipka, Gerald Mohatt, E. Yanez, and R.J. Sternberg, ?The
Relationship between Academic and Practical Intelligence: A Case Study of the Tacit Knowledge of
Native American and Yup?ik People in Alaska,? unpublished manuscript (2001).
24 Jerry Lipka, S. Wildfeuer, N. Wahlberg, M. George, and D. Erzan, ?Elastic Geometry and
Storyknifing: A Yup?ik Eskimo Example,? Teaching Children Mathematics 7, no. 6 (2001), 337-343.
25 American Indian Science and Engineering Society, ?Teacher Education Program: Indigenous
Education,? 1997 Annual National Conference, Houston, TX.
26 Linda Skinner, ?Teaching through Traditions: Incorporating Languages and Culture into Curricula,?
in Swisher and Tippeconnic, Next Steps, 107-134; Tarajean Yazzie, ?Culturally Appropriate Curriculum:
A Research-based Rationale,? in Swisher and Tippeconic, Next Steps, 83-106.
27 R. A. Lake, ?Between Myth and History: Enacting Time in Native American Protest Rhetoric,?
Quarterly Journal of Speech 77 (1991), 123-151; R. Morris and P. Wander, ?Native American Rhetoric:
Dancing in the Shadow of the Ghost Dance,? Quarterly Journal of Speech 76 (1990), 164-191.
28 R. K. Chiago, ?Making Education Work for the American Indian,? Theory into Practice (1981), 20-25.
29 J. Barden, ?In the Spirit,? Tribal College Journal 6 (1994), 23-25.
30 J. Barden and L. French, Psychocultural Change and the American Indian (New York: Garland
Publishing, 1987).
31 R. C. Henze and L. Vanett, ?To Walk in Two Worlds ? or More: Challenging a Common Metaphor
of Native Education,? Anthropology & Education Quarterly 24 (1993), 116-134.
32 Federal Interagency Task Force, ?American Indian and Alaska Native Education Research Agenda?
(Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, 2001), ED 462216.
April 2004
19
33 Jerry Lipka, Gerald Mohatt, and the Ciulistet Group, ?Transforming the Culture of Schools: Yup?ik
Eskimo Examples,? Sociocultural, Political, and Historical Studies in Education (Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence
Erlbaum, 1998), ERIC Document Reproduction Service, ED 431565; Skinner, ?Teaching through
Traditions,?; Yazzie, ?Culturally Appropriate Curriculum?; V. L. Dupuis and M. W. Walker, ?The Circle
of Learning at Kickapoo,? Journal of American Indian Education 28 (1988), 27-33; J. A. Hakes et al.,
Curriculum Improvement for Pueblo Indian Students: A Pilot Study (Albuquerque, NM: ERIC Document
Reproduction Service, 1980), ED 190 283; Teresa L. McCarty, ?School as Community: The Rough
Rock Demonstration,? Harvard Educational Review 59 (1989), 484-503; Gerald V. Mohatt and Nancy
Sharp, ?The Evolution and Development of a Yup?ik Teacher,? in Lipka with Mohatt and the Ciulistet
Group (eds.), Transforming the Culture of Schools: Yup?ik Eskimos Examples (Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence
Erlbaum, 1998), 41-69.
34 Henry Trueba, ?Culturally-based Explanations of Minority Students? Academic Achievement,?
Anthropology and Education Quarterly 59, no. 3 (1988), 270-287.
35 R. l. Luftig, ?Effects of Schooling on the Self-concept of Native American Students,? School
Counselor 30 (1983), 251-260.
36 Trueba, 270-287.
37 Deyhle and Swisher, ?Research?; Swisher and Tippeconnic, Next Steps; Yazzie, ?Holding a Mirror to
?Eyes Wide Shut?: The Role of Native Cultures and Language in the Education of American Indian
Students,? paper commissioned by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S.
Department of Education (2000).
38 Daniel McLaughlin, When Literacy Empowers: Navajo Language in Print (Albuquerque, NM:
University of New Mexico, 1992).
39 D. Corson, ?Community-based Education for Indigenous Cultures,? Language, Culture, and
Curriculum 11, no. 3 (1998), 238-249.
40 D. Michael Pavel, ?American Indians and Alaska Natives in Higher Education: Promoting Access and
Achievement,? in Swisher and Tippeconnic, Next Steps (1999).
41 M. L. Fuller, ?Monocultural Teachers and Multicultural Students: A Demographic Clash,? Teaching
Education 4, no. 2 (1992), 87-93; Willis D. Hawley, ?The Importance of Minority Teachers to the Racial
and Ethnic Integration of American Society,? Equity and Choice 5, no. 2 (1989), 31-16; R. I. Quezada, J.
J. Galbo, P. M. Russ, and A. T. Vang, ?Teacher Recruitment Programs for K-12 Students: Implications
for Teacher Education,? Teacher Education Quarterly 23, no. 4 (1996), 85-94.
42 J. Banks, An Introduction to Multicultural Education (2nd edition) (Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1999);
Indian Nations At Risk Task Force, An Educational Strategy for Action: Final Report of the Indian Nations at
Risk Task Force (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, 1991), ERIC Document
Reproduction Service ED 343753; D. Michael Pavel, ?Comparing BIA and Tribal Schools with Public
Schools: A Look at the Year 1990-91,? Journal of American Indian Education 35, no. 5 (1995), 10-15;
Pavel in Swisher and Tippeconnic, Next Steps; U.S. Department of Education National Center for
Education Statistics, Characteristics of American Indian and Alaska Native Education: Results from the 1990-
91 School and Staffing Survey, NCES 95-735 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education
National Center for Education Statistics, 1995); U.S. Department of Education National Center for
Education Statistics, Characteristics of American Indian and Alaska Native Education: Results from the 1993-
94 and 1990-91 Schools and Staffing Survey, NCES 97-451 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of
Education National Center for Education Statistics, 1997); White House Conference on Indian
Education, Final Report of the White House Conference on Indian Education (Washington, D.C.: White
House Conference on Indian Education, 1992), ERIC Document Reproduction Service, ED 353124.
43 D. W. Friesen and J. Orr, ?New Paths, Old Ways: Exploring the Places of Influences on the Role of
Identity,? Canadian Journal of Native Education 22, no. 2 (1998), 188-200.
44 S. J. Fox, ?Standards-based Reform and American Indian/Alaska Native Education,? presented at the
National Indian Education Research Agenda Conference, Albuquerque, NM, May 2000.
45 Roger Bordeaux, ?Assessment for American Indian and Alaska Native Learners,? (Charleston, WV:
ERIC Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small Schools, ERIC Digest, ERIC Reproduction
Service,1995), ED 385424.
46 Cornel Pewewardy, ?Our Children Can?t Wait: Recapturing the Essence of Indigenous Schools in the
United States,? Cultural Survival Quarterly 22, no. 1 (1998), 29-34.
47 S. J. Fox, ?Student Assessment in Indian Education or What is a Roach?? in Swisher and
Tippeconnic, Next Steps, 161-178.
48 E.T. Estrin and S. Nelson-Barber, Issues in Cross-Cultural Assessment: American Indian and Alaska
Native Students (San Francisco: Far West Laboratory, 1995).
Serving American Indian Students
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