Research on the Academic Benefits of the Advanced Placement Program

Abstract

With more than 3 million participants per year, the Advanced Placement (AP) program is one of the most popular programs in the United States for exposing high-achieving high school students to advanced academic content. Sponsored by the College Board, the AP program provides a framework in which high school teachers can teach introductory college-level courses to high school students. These students then take one of 34 standardized tests at the end of the year, and students who score well on their course’s AP test can receive college credit from their university in which they later enroll. Despite the popularity of the AP program, remarkably little independent research has been conducted on the academic benefits of AP. In this article, I summarize the state of knowledge about the academic benefits of AP. Previous research and descriptive data indicate that AP students outperform non-AP students on a variety of academic measures, but many other aspects of the program are poorly understood, partially due to variability across AP subjects. These aspects include the causal impact of AP, which components of the program are most effective in boosting academic achievement, and how students engage with the AP program. I also conclude by making suggestions for researchers to use new methodologies to investigate new scientific and policy questions and new student populations to improve the educational scholars’ and practitioners’ understanding of the AP program.

A Review on Indonesia Policy in Supporting Gifted Students Education

“…One of the famous gifted programs in America [15], [16] uses Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) as the systems to measure the skills and knowledges of students who will continue their study in higher education. [17], the test consists of two main parts; language and math. Then, the component of SAT divided into three parts: Reading, 2) Writing and Language, 3) Math, and Esay SAT (optional) [18], [19].…”

“…64 year 2014. This program is created by adopting the popular program in America namely Advance Placement [47], [15], [48], in which that program consists of three models; specialization, cross interest and deepening interest [49], [50]. Unfortunately, the decision which is taken by the government seems to be in a hurry.…”

Estimating High School GPA Weighting Parameters With a Graded Response Model

“…Studies have also found that students who take advanced courses in high school, such as AP courses, tend to outperform students who do not (Keng & Dodd, 2008). Geiser and Santelices (2004), Klopfenstein and Thomas (2005), Sadler and Tai (2007b), Warne (2017), and Warne, Nagaishi, Slade, Hermesmeyer, and Peck (2014) found that the strength of the relationship between advanced course participation and college achievement depends on the additional covariates in the model. An unresolved question is the correct methodological approach to estimating how GPAs should be weighted by course type.…”

Bridging the Problem-Based Learning Gap for the Pre-Medical Student: Lessons Learned from Physicists Maxwell and Einstein

“…Would taking such an upper-level interdisciplinary PBL course as an undergraduate provide a similar "knowledge bridge" to medical school philosophy as does taking high-school AP credits? 20 If the answer is yes, then the other issue is whether junior and senior pre-medical students would be able to master a PBL interdisciplinary biology, biochemistry, and clinical course successfully.…”