Specialty: Adolescent Medicine

Keywords: academic tracking, risky health behaviors

Background

Academic tracking is the institutional practice of placing students into different course levels based on perceived ability. Although designed to support learning, tracking often reinforces educational inequality by limiting access to rigorous academic environments. Students placed in lower tracks may be in peer settings where high-risk behaviors are more prevalent and may be subject to increased disciplinary surveillance, contributing to early pathways described in the school-to-prison pipeline. While prior research has linked academic tracking to disparities in academic outcomes, school engagement, and peer dynamics, few studies have directly examined the impact of tracking on adolescent health behaviors. This study examines whether enrollment in advanced English coursework, used as a proxy for higher academic track placement, is associated with lower engagement in risky health behaviors among adolescents.

Objective

To examine whether enrollment in advanced coursework is associated with reduced odds of substance use, delinquency, violence, or school misbehavior and discipline outcomes.

Methods

This is a secondary analysis of cross-sectional survey and academic transcript data from high school students attending 3 schools in a large California public school district (n=541). The primary predictor is enrollment in any AP or IB English course. Outcomes include alcohol misuse, marijuana misuse, any substance use, delinquency, violence, and school misbehavior outcomes (cutting class, rule-breaking, probation, suspension) within the past twelve months. Propensity scores were estimated and applied as weights to adjust for selection into AP/IB courses by school, gender, race/ethnicity, middle school exposure to the AVID college preparatory program, highest parental level of education and parental employment. Weighted logistic regression models estimated adjusted odds ratios for each outcome. All analysis was conducted in Stata 18.5. 

Results

Enrollment in advanced coursework was significantly associated with lower odds of being put on probation (AOR = 0.17; 95% CI: 0.04–0.83; p = 0.028) and breaking school rules (AOR = 0.46; 95% CI: 0.27–0.79; p = 0.005), with marginal associations for suspension (AOR = 0.22; 95% CI: 0.05–1.06; p = 0.060) and delinquency (AOR = 0.58; 95% CI: 0.32–1.04; p = 0.069). No significant differences were found for substance use or misuse, violence, or cutting class.

Conclusions

Enrollment in advanced coursework was associated with lower odds of school misbehavior, such as rule-breaking and probation, but it was not significantly associated with risky health behaviors. Our findings suggest that exposure to high-achieving academic tracks may have more direct effects on behaviors within school walls than those beyond it. Breaking school rules and being put on probation may have meaningful effects on adolescent health, particularly if they increase exposure to law enforcement and exclusionary disciplinary practices that are foundational to the school-to-prison pipeline. Reducing disparities in access to advanced academic environments may be a structural intervention to prevent the systematic channeling of marginalized youth into cycles of surveillance, punishment, and lifelong health inequities.