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Taking advanced high school courses predicts such postsecondary outcomes as enrolling in college, persisting in college courses, and completing a degree. In Texas, where Hispanic students make up 51 percent of the student population, their access to and enrollment in advanced courses is an ongoing concern despite recent gains. In particular, disparities in the proportions of Hispanic adults educated and certified for high-wage jobs in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields raise questions about Hispanic students' equitable access to advanced STEM courses. In 2009 Hispanic employees accounted for 14 percent of the U.S. workforce but held only 6 percent of STEM jobs. Members of the Texas Hispanic STEM Alliance of the Regional Educational Laboratory Southwest, made up of representatives from Regional Education Service Centers, school districts, postsecondary institutions, and state education agencies, asked whether Hispanic students in Texas are taking advanced STEM courses at the same rates as other students or have equitable opportunities to take them. In response, this study examined course offerings and coursetaking in more than 1,500 Texas high schools over 2007/08-2013/14 to identify differences across Black, Hispanic, and White students, using statewide longitudinal student education records for more than 240,000 students a year. The findings of this study can inform regional and local educators and policymakers who are considering policies, interventions, and reforms to equalize STEM achievement across student groups and support for advanced STEM coursetaking, particularly among Black and Hispanic students. The methodology (in addition to the findings) may help states beyond Texas explore questions of course availability and course completion.

Although the percentage of high school students in advanced STEM courses has risen steadily in the past two decades throughout the United States, disparities persist across student subgroups, such as racial/ethnic groups (Aud et al., 2013; Laird, Alt, & Wu, 2009; Texas Education Agency, 2011). Racial/ethnic minority student enrollment in advanced STEM courses in high school continues to lag behind nonminority enrollment, both nationally and in Texas. This study examined advanced STEM course offerings in all regular-instruction public high schools in Texas, including charter schools that served students at any time from 2007/08 to 2013/14. The study also examined advanced STEM course completion among all students continuously enrolled in public high schools for four years (or five years in public schools when a math performance measure from grade 8 is included) for four cohorts of students in grades 9-12 between the 2007/08 and 2013/14 school years. Results are reported on average across the state in the full public report and are summarized in this brief. [For the full report, "Advanced Course Offerings and Completion in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math in Texas Public High Schools. REL 2018-276," see ED576983.]