Transcript Document

Advanced Placement
Articulation and Policy
Making for Enrollment
Managers
February 10, 2008
Boyd Bradshaw, Saint Louis University
Michael Kabbaz, College Board
Sally Lindsley, University of Michigan
Gordon Mork, Purdue University
Ted Spencer, University of Michigan
Workshop Outline
• Michael Kabbaz: AP overview - (50
minutes)
• AP Program Data; Field Research; Latest Validity Research; AP Course Audit
Update; and Credit and Placement Policy Considerations
• 10 minute break
• Boyd Bradshaw - 25 minutes
• Ted Spencer and Sally Lindsley - 25
minutes
• Gordon Mork - 25 minutes
2
First Session: AP Overview Agenda
AP Program Overview
• Data highlights
• What’s New in AP
• AP Course Audit/Ledger
• Field Research
• Recent AP Validity Research
• Credit and Placement Policy Considerations
3
College Board’s Mission
The College Board’s mission is to connect
students to college success and
opportunity. We are a not-for-profit
membership organization committed to
excellence and equity in education.
4
AP Participation Statement:
Achieving Equity With a Focus on Quality and
Preparation
All prepared students who are willing to accept the
challenge of a rigorous academic curriculum should be
considered for admission to AP courses. The Board
encourages the elimination of barriers that restrict
access to AP courses for students from ethnic, racial,
and socioeconomic groups that have been
traditionally underrepresented in the AP Program.
Schools should make every effort to ensure that their AP
classes reflect the diversity of their student population.
5
What Sort of AP Experience Consistently
Addresses Student College Success?
• The College Board encourages participation in AP, and
believes students should be encouraged and supported in
taking on the challenge of a college-level course in high
school.
• While students may benefit from AP even if they don’t
learn at the level that will produce a score of 3 or better on
the AP Exam, it is vital that partnerships between K-12,
higher education, states and the College Board focus on
helping students achieve a score of 3 or better, which is
the level of performance research consistently finds is
predictive of college success.
6
AP Overview
Since 1955, AP has been providing high school
students with rigorous course work that is
comparable to entry-level college courses
37 Advanced Placement exams in 22 subject areas
World Languages expansion:
Italian (2006), Chinese and Japanese (2007)
AP Exams, which colleges utilize for credit,
placement or both, are given annually in May.
7
Some Key Benefits of AP
• AP courses establish a college-level standard in secondary schools
that is measured through a national assessment designed and scored
by college faculty.
• AP courses expose college-bound students to the amounts of
homework, study skills, and habits of mind essential for success in
college courses.
• AP provides leverage for aligning and strengthening the grades 6-12
curriculum.
• Students who take AP Exams and score a 3 or higher typically
experience greater academic success and college graduation rates
than non-AP students.
• The AP course is typically the most rigorous curriculum offered in
secondary schools and is designated on the student transcript.
• Because AP is widely used for college credit and/or placement, it
attracts motivated students eager to double major, or engage in
deeper, upper-division courses at college.
8
Who Participates in AP?
• 16,000+ secondary schools worldwide offer AP
exams
• More than 120,000 AP teachers in over 14,300
schools worldwide teach AP courses
• In 2007, over 1.4 million students took about 2.5
million exams
• 4,700+ college faculty develop and score the AP
Exams ensuring college-level standards
• 3,500+ colleges receive AP Exam scores
annually
9
Faculty Expertise is Essential in Every Facet of AP
Course and Exam Development
• Pre-test AP Exams by embedding them within exams offered in the
college classroom
• Write AP Exam questions and develop all AP course descriptions
• College faculty serve as Chairs of all AP Development Committees
• Score the free-response sections of AP Exams by attending the AP
Reading at a college campus or convention center every June
• College faculty serve as Chief Readers for all exam gradings
• Teach professional development institutes for experienced and new
AP teachers
• Participate in the annual audit of courses labeled “AP” by reviewing
electronic copies of AP teachers’ syllabi to provide feedback
10
What do AP Exam Grades Represent?
Each AP Exam grade is a weighted combination of the student's score
on the multiple-choice section and on the free-response section. The
final grade is reported on a 5-point scale:
5 = extremely well qualified
4 = well qualified
3 = qualified
2 = possibly qualified
1 = no recommendation
• AP grades of 5 and 4 are comparable to a college course grade of A, while
at some institutions, an AP grade of 4 is comparable to a college course
grade of B
• An AP grade of 3 is approximately equal to a college course grade of B at
many institutions, while at others it is more nearly comparable to a college
course grade of C.
11
College Faculty Ensure Rigor and Quality of AP Standards by
Participating in Comparability Studies
To identify the number of points AP students must
earn on the AP Exam, college professors regularly
administer AP Exams to their own college students
in order to ensure comparability between the
standards applied to college students and the
standards AP students must meet.
12
Faculty at the Following Institutions PreAdministered AP Exams in 2007
13
• Baylor U
• UCLA
• Brigham Young U
• UC-Berkeley
• Duke U
• U of Colorado-Boulder
• Grinnell College
• U of Maryland-College Park
• Harvard U
• UNC-Chapel Hill
• Michigan State U
• U of Pennsylvania
• Middlebury College
• University of Southern California
• Princeton U
• U of Virginia
• Purdue U
• U of Washington
• Smith College
• U of Wisconsin-Madison
• Stanford U
• Washington U
• Tufts U
• Yale U
AP Continues to Grow in the Number of Participating
Schools, Students and Exams
AP Growth: No. of Schools
17,000
16,500
16,000
AP Growth: Students/Exams
15,500
15,000
3,000,000
14,500
2,500,000
14,000
13,500
2,000,000
13,000
1,500,000
2003
2004
2005
Schools
2006
2007
1,000,000
500,000
0
2003
2004
2005
Students
Source: The College Board SDRS
14
2006
Exams
2007
Despite AP’s Growth, Participation in AP is Limited,
Even Among College-Bound Students
• While about 74% of U.S. high school graduates
are entering college, less than a fourth (24.2%)
took an AP Exam during their high school years
• And within the fraction of students who take AP:
• 82 percent took just 1, 2, or 3 AP Exams during their
entire 4 years of high school
• Less than 4 percent took 7 or more AP Exams during
their entire 4 years of high school
Source: AP Report to the Nation; College Board SDRS
15
AP Exam Fee Reduction for Low-Income
Students
The College Board believes the cost of the AP Exam
should not be a barrier for low-income students.
• The College Board provides a $22 fee reduction per exam for
students with financial need. For each eligible student, secondary
schools should also forgo their $8/per exam rebate.
• More than 40 states and U.S. territories use federal and/or state funds
to help cover all or part of the remaining cost to the student.
More information on state exam fee subsidies:
http://professionals.collegeboard.com/testing/ap/about/fees
16
AP Participation Growth Rate is Greatest Among Low-Income,
African American, and Latino students
250,000
Hispanic – 91%*
200,000
Low Income – 142%*
150,000
Asian – 62%*
100,000
African American – 105%*
50,000
American Indian – 82%*
0
2002
2003
Hispanic
2004
African American
2005
Low Income
2006
Asian
2007
American Indian
Source: SDRS 2002-2007
17
* - represents percentage growth from 2002
Increasing Numbers of Traditionally Underserved Students
are Now Earning Scores of 3 or Better
140,000
Hispanic – 62%*
120,000
100,000
80,000
Low Income – 97%*
60,000
40,000
African American – 73%*
20,000
American Indian – 80%*
0
2002
2007
African American
Low Income
18
Source: SDRS 2002-2007
Hispanic
American Indian
* - represents percentage growth from 2002
However, Significant Achievement Gaps Remain and are a Concern
the College Board is Seeking to Address
Percent of Total Exams Scored 1, 2, or 3+:
Percent of Total Exams Scored 1, 2, or 3+:
All Exams and Low Income (FR) Exams
By Ethnic / Racial Category
70%
70%
60%
60%
50%
40%
50%
46%
39%
36%
44%
43%
40%
30%
20%
64%
59%
25%
30%
30%
23%
30%
28%
28%
26%
23%
18%
24%
20%
13%
10%
10%
0%
Score of 2
Score of 1
Score of 3+
Low Income AP Exams All AP Exams
19
Source: SDRS 2006 data
0%
Score of 1
Score of 2
White
Hispanic
Score of 3+
African American
American Indian
What’s New in AP?
• AP Course Audit
• Release of the AP Course Ledger
• Field Research Overview
• Admission Officer Perceptions
• College Faculty Perceptions
20
What is the AP Course Audit?
Created at the request of secondary school
and college members of the College Board,
the AP Course Audit was designed to:
• Provide teachers and administrators with clear
guidelines on curricular and resource
requirements that must be in place before
labeling a course “AP”; and
• Ensure consistency and currency across the
curriculum of courses labeled “AP.”
21
How is the AP Course Audit Conducted?
• From 2004-2006, college faculty nationwide established
the criteria for earning the AP designation; these criteria
are publicly available on the Web
• From 2006-2007, teachers and principals desiring to
continue to label their courses “AP” submitted their
curricula for review by college faculty.
• More than 800 select college and university faculty
currently conduct the audit on behalf of the College Board.
• These professors represent a diverse range of institutions such as
Yale University, Florida State University, and Haverford College
22
The Outcome of the AP Course Audit
• Qualifying schools receive legal authorization to
use the “AP” label on their school profile and
student transcripts, and are included in the
public ledger of official AP courses.
• For 2007-08, the “AP” designation is now
restricted to courses in approximately 14,300
secondary schools worldwide.
23
Course Audit: What Was the Impact?
A recent survey of 26,000 teachers who participated in the audit
provided such a statistically significant sample size to justify the
following claims about the impact of the audit. Hundreds of thousands
of high school students will benefit from the increased resources they
now receive due to the audit, which enabled a projected:
• 17,000 teachers to prevent reductions in lab time and instructional
time that were scheduled to affect their courses;
• 16,000 teachers to obtain more current college textbooks for their
students;
• 22,000 teachers to incorporate advances in the discipline that had
not yet been added into their curricula; and
• 16,000 teachers to receive increased funding from their school or
district for professional development.
24
Course Audit: What Was the Impact?
The vast majority of AP teachers felt the AP
Course Audit curricular requirements were broad
and flexible enough to permit a wide variety of
approaches to teaching an AP course, while at
the same time, providing them a valuable
opportunity to reflect upon their course and its
relationship to colleges' rigorous expectations.
25
AP Course Audit Results are Accessible: AP
Course Ledger
• Searchable database of
over 136,200 courses and
14,300 secondary schools
worldwide authorized to
carry the “AP” label
• Search database by high
school, high school code,
city, state, and subject
• Entire database is able to
be downloaded to be
integrated into campus
system
26
collegeboard.com/apcourseledger
AP Course Ledger: Possible Uses?
• Confirmation of AP
courses taught in high
schools
• Possible tool for
targeted recruitment of
high schools
• Search on secondary
schools with specialized
content areas, such as
world languages
collegeboard.com/apcourseledger
27
Field Research: Attitudes, Beliefs, Needs, Wants –
What Do We Know?
Beginning in spring 2007 and continuing through this year, the AP
Program is undertaking the largest study of stakeholders’ values ever
conducted by AP. Large, representative samples are being gathered
from the following groups:
• AP Teachers
• College Admissions Officers
• College Department Chairs
• AP Coordinators
• School and district administrators
• AP exam Readers
• Students
• Parents
28
Higher Education’s Support for K-12 is Critical if Secondary Schools are to
Continue to Increase Academic Opportunities for Students
To sustain your school’s current level of participation in AP, how important is it that…
% Extremely / Very Important
90%
Colleges Award Credit
College Award Placement into Higher Level Courses
77%
Colleges Stress Importance in Admissions
77%
76%
Address Teacher Concerns about Curriculum
Fed / State Funding for AP Teacher PD
74%
Improve Quality of AP Teachers
73%
68%
No AP Exam Price Increase
63%
Fed/State Funding for AP Exam Fees
62%
Better Student Prep for AP Rigor
51%
Later AP Test Dates
38%
AP Exams - Less Material, More Depth
17%
AP Exam Administration Via the Internet
29
0%
Source: Crux Market Research Inc. (2006): AP Teachers – Q345 Base: (n=3,417)
School and District Administrators also Affirmed the
Importance of Higher Education’s Support
To sustain your school’s/district’s level of participation in AP, how
important is the fact that colleges award credit for AP Scores?
Nearly 90% of Bldg and
District Administrators
Building Administrators
52%
54%
District Administrators
36%
32%
13%
10%
Extremely
Important
30
Very Important
2%
Somewhat
Important
0%
0%
0%
Not Very Important Not at All Important
Source: Crux Market Research Inc. (2006): Administrators – Q313_02 Base: (n=604)
Why do Students take AP Courses?
Which of these are reasons why you have decided to take AP?
AP Students
75%
67%
63%
55%
49%
44%
Challenge myself
Build skills I'll
academically
need to succeed
at college
Intrinsic Reasons
31
Interested in a
specific AP
subject area
Stand out in
admissions
process
Save money by
having earned
college credit
Place out of an
introductory
course
Extrinsic Reasons
Source: Crux Market Research Inc. (2006): Q310
Credit / Placement Opportunities Remain the Strongest Drivers
of the Decision to Take the AP Exam
Which are key reasons why you would take an AP Exam
at the end of an AP course?
AP Students
66%
62%
Potentially save money in Place out of courses, and
college by earning
move directly to more
college credit
advanced coursework
Extrinsic Reasons
32
55%
54%
Taking the exam is just
part of the whole AP
experience
Show how well I mastered
the college-level course
Intrinsic Reasons
Source: Crux Market Research Inc. (2006): Q630
What is the Current AP Experience
Among Colleges?
A Wide Range of Institutions Report Increases
in the Proportion of Students with AP Experience
Over the past few years, has the proportion of your department’s students who
took AP coursework in high school been…?
(% Increasing)
92%
89%
85%
83%
70%
Selective
68%
Non-Selective
Top Third
Middle Third
Bottom Third
Not in Top 200
Admissions
Top 200 colleges based on
AP score report volume
Source: Crux Market Research Inc. (2006): Q630 Dept. Chairs – Q315 Base: (n=125) / Admissions – Q315 Base: (n=125)
AP Policies are Not Affecting Application
Volume or Tuition Revenue
Which of the following are true at your institution?
Admissions
10%
10%
Department Chairs
6%
7%
Restrictions on AP credit/placement discourage some You have concerns about a potential loss in revenue
qualified applicants from choosing to enroll at your
that may occur when you grant college credit for AP
institution
scores
Source: Crux Market Research Inc. (2006): Admissions – Q245 Base: (n=125) / Dept. Chairs – Q245 Base: (n=125)
College Preparedness of Their Incoming AP Students
Has Been Either Improving or Constant, Not Worse
Over the past few years, has the degree of college preparedness of your
students with AP experience been…?
Admissions
49%
49%
2%
Getting better
Getting worse
Staying about the same
Source: Crux Market Research Inc. (2006):Admissions – Q320 Base: (n=125)
Most Admissions Officers Find AP Experience Helpful
in Evaluating Admissions Candidates
When evaluating a candidate for admission, how helpful is it
to evaluate their AP course experience?
Not Very
Helpful, 2%
Not at All
Helpful, 5%
Extremely
Helpful, 30%
Somewhat
Helpful, 19%
74% Extremely or
Very Helpful
“We look favorably on students
who have taken AP courses.
The presence of AP courses is a
sign that a student has chosen
to challenge him/herself.”
AP Admissions Officer Online
Bulletin Board
Very Helpful,
44%
Source: Crux Market Research Inc. (2006): Admissions – Q300 Base: (n=125)
A Vast Majority of Admissions Officers Report that AP
Course Experience Favorably Impacts Admissions
Decisions
Admissions (selective institutions)
Admissions (non-selective institutions)
58%
56%
27%
16%
16%
11%
11%
2%
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
2%
2%
Strongly Disagree
Source: Crux Market Research Inc. (2006): Admissions – Q340 Base: (n=125)
41% of Admissions Officers Anticipate an Increase in
the Use of AP in Admissions in the Future
Think about the use of AP in admissions decisions at your institution.
Five years from now, do you expect that …?
Admissions
57%
41%
Higher among selective
institutions (47%)
2%
You will use AP more than you do
now
You will use AP less than you do
now
There will be no change in how you
use AP
Source: Crux Market Research Inc. (2006): Admissions – Q705 Base: (n=125)
Many Admissions Officers Find AP to be More
Meaningful Today than it has in the Past
On the whole, do you feel that having AP on a college transcript is …?
Why?
Less
meaningful
today than it
has been in the
past, 15%
“Because AP is now available
to so many different schools,
which are clearly not equal.”
Admissions Officer telephone
survey
More
meaningful
today than it
has been in the
past, 30%
Why?
“Because of the growth of the
AP program, such that the
coursework is more readily
available at schools…thus
making it more useful for
broad-based comparisons.”
No difference,
54%
Admissions Officer telephone
survey
Source: Crux Market Research Inc. (2006): Admissions – Q305 Base: (n=125)
Colleges Use AP to Determine Preparedness, Student
Motivation, and for Placement
How does your institution use AP, if at all, to support admissions decisions?
To determine how prepared a student is for the rigor of
college academics
83%
As an indicator of a student’s motivation/willingness to
challenge him/herself
83%
To place students in appropriate courses
74%
To evaluate candidates from a range of high schools
58%
As a secondary criterion for admissions
37%
31%
As a criterion for awarding scholarships
To sort applicants into evaluation groupings
27%
20%
To guard against grade inflation
To make loan decisions
2%
“We consider the learning
environment for each applicant –
how many AP’s are offered and how
many has the student taken
advantage of and grades earned.”
AP Admissions Officer Online Bulletin
Board
Source: Crux Market Research Inc. (2006): Admissions – Q301 Base: (n=125)
Strong Support from Department Chairs on Providing AP
Credit or Placement to Students
In general, would you say you favor or oppose allowing AP students
to receive credit or placement in your department?
Strongly
Oppose, 2%
Strongly
Favor, 42%
Oppose, 6%
76% Strongly
Favor or Favor
Neutral, 16%
Favor, 34%
Source: Crux Market Research Inc. (2006): Dept. Chairs – Q240 Base: (n=125)
Most Department Chairs Report that Their Institution Uses
AP for Both Credit and Placement
Does your institution’s AP policy allow students to apply AP scores for …?
We do not
have an AP
policy, 3%
Credit
purposes
only?, 16%
Placement
purposes
only?, 5%
Both credit
and
placement?,
76%
Source: Crux Market Research Inc. (2006): Dept. Chairs – Q300 Base: (n=125)
Most Admissions Officers and Department Chairs Report
Little Change in the Ease or Difficulty for Students to
Obtain Course Credit
Over the past few years, has your institution/department made it harder or easier for
students to use their AP exam score to obtain credit or skip introductory courses?
Admissions
Department Chairs
74%
13%
10%
Easier
74%
16%
13%
Harder
No change
Source: Crux Market Research Inc. (2006): Admissions – Q355 Base: (n=125 / Dept. Chairs – Q355 Base: (n=125)
Some Colleges and Universities Tailor Their
AP Exam Polices
Does your institution/department…?
Admissions
Department Chairs
28%
26%
18%
17%
15%
16%
8%
8%
Cap the total number of Not allow students to use Allow students to use AP Require a student to take
AP credits a student can AP to satisfy requirements credits for placement, but at least one course in a
apply at your institution
in their major
not to reduce their course
department in order to
load in college
use AP credit
Source: Crux Market Research Inc. (2006): Admissions – Q375 Base: (n=125) / Dept. Chairs – Q375 Base: (n=125)
Colleges Want Assurance that AP Quality is Consistent
Across High Schools and are Interested in Seeing the
Relationship Between AP and College Success
How important is the following to you?
% Extremely / Very Important
Admissions
86%
72%
62%
Providing evidence that the
quality of AP courses and
instruction is consistent
across high schools
Providing research that
Providing evidence that AP's
shows the relationship
course curriculum was based
between AP participation and
on input and review from
college success
national scholars specializing
in curriculum development
60%
Providing research that
shows the relationship
between AP course grades
and AP exam scores
Source: Crux Market Research Inc. (2006): Admissions – Q700/Q701 Base: (n=125) / Department Chairs – Q700/Q701 Base: (n=125)
The More Selective the Institution, the Less the College
is Concerned About Having the Same AP Policies as Peers
How important is it that your AP policies are the same as peer institutions?
Extremely/Very Important
36%
Admissions (Selective)
Admissions (NonSelective)
Dept. Chairs (Selective)
Dept. Chairs (NonSelective)
Somewhat Important
Not Very/Not at All Important
39%
43%
25%
26%
48%
42%
45%
10%
32%
42%
12%
“We care and like to see what other schools are doing in
their academic and admission policies.”
Participant, AP Admissions Officer Online Bulletin Board
Source: Crux Market Research Inc. (2006): Admissions – Q235 Base: (n=125) / Dept. Chairs – Q235 Base: (n=125)
Most Institutions are Doing Something to Monitor Peer Institution AP
Policies; Departments are More Active than Admissions Realizes
What does your institution do to monitor what peer institutions
are doing with regard to AP?
45%
Department Chairs
Admissions
33%
30%
22%
22%
16%
18%
7%
Your institution surveys
other institutions to
document their policies
Someone in admissions is
assigned to monitor peer
institution policies
Individual departments
monitor this
Nothing
Source: Crux Market Research Inc. (2006): Admissions – Q236 Base: (n=125) / Dept. Chairs – Q236 Base: (n=125)
Satisfaction Levels for AP and IB are Similar
Mean Overall Satisfaction (10 point scale)
Admissions Officers
“[AP and IB] are both
rigorous programs that
should be taken very
seriously…both are
highly respected by
admissions committees.”
Department Chairs
Admissions Officer
telephone survey
7.4
7.3
6.6
6.6
6.1
5.7
AP Program
IB Program
Dual Enrollment
Source: Crux Market Research Inc. (2006)
Admissions – Q385 Base: (n=125), Colleges that have students with IB/DE experience Q445/Q540 Base: (n=114/116)
Admissions – Q385 Base: (n=125), Colleges that have students with IB/DE experience Q445/Q540 Base: (n=80/53)
Half of Department Chairs Feel that Students with any Advanced
Coursework Experience are Equally Likely to Succeed in Their
Department
Which students tend to succeed more in your department?
They all perform equally
47%
AP Students
33%
IB Students
DE students
12%
6%
Department Chairs
Source: Crux Market Research Inc. (2006):Base - Department Chairs from colleges that have students with AP and IB experience – Q615 Base: (n=100)
AP Research
While much caution should be
exercised in interpreting AP’s
impact, research continues to
establish strong connections
between AP and college
success.
51
Course Placement: Research
• Two large scale studies have collected official
student transcript data from numerous colleges
and universities (Morgan & Ramist, 1998; Morgan
& Klaric, 2007)
• Institutions varied by location, selectivity, and curriculum
emphasis
• No. of institutions in both studies exceeded 20
• Compared subsequent course grades of AP students with an
exam grade of > 3 who were exempted from the introductory
course to the subsequent course grades of students who took
the introductory course
52
Course Placement: Research Results
• AP students exempted from the introductory
course generally did at least as well, if not better,
in the subsequent course as those who took the
introductory course
• Magnitude of achievement difference generally
varied as a function of the students’ AP Exams
grades
• That is, students earning higher exam grades tended to
do better, on average, in the subsequent course than
those earning lower exam grades.
53
Course Placement: Research
UT Austin Study (Keng & Dodd, 2007)
• Followed 4 cohorts of entering freshmen (1998-2001)
enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin.
• Results showed that AP students who placed out of
introductory college courses as a result of successful
AP exam grades (i.e., the AP credit group) earned
significantly higher college GPAs in the subject area of
their exam and took more credit hours in the subject
area of their exam than non-AP students.
• Non-AP students were matched to the AP group in
terms of high school rank and admission test scores
(i.e., SAT and ACT).
54
AP Students with Credit Outperformed NonAP Students
55
AP & College Success: Results
• Students who take AP Exams more likely to:
• Earn at least a B average in their freshman year
• Maintain that average for the duration of their college career
• Graduate with academic honors (Willingham & Morris, 1986)
• Students who earn 3 or better on AP Exam more
likely to:
• Graduate from college in five years or less compared to non-AP
students, even after controlling for prior academic achievement,
SES, % low income, and district dropout rate (Dougherty, Mellor,
& Jian, 2006).
56
AP Exam v AP Course Participation
Texas Statewide Study (Hargrove, Godin, & Dodd,
2007)
• Provides an extensive comparison of students’
performance on several college outcomes (first and
fourth-year GPA and 4-year graduation status) by
various groups
• AP course and exam group
• AP course only group
• Standard high school courses group
• Controls for SAT scores and SES (as measured by
Free or Reduced Price Lunch status)
57
Hargrove, Godin, & Dodd, 2007
• The “AP course and exam” group significantly
outperformed the “standard high school courses”
group on all college outcomes in all years, after
statistically controlling for SAT scores and SES.
• The “AP course and exam” group also
significantly outperformed the “AP course only”
group on all college outcomes.
58
First-Year College GPA for AP and non-AP
groups by SAT Score Category
4
3.5
First-year GPA
3
Standard High School
Course
2.5
AP Course Only
2
AP Course and Exam
1.5
1
0.5
0
≤ 850
860-970
980-1080
SAT Score Category
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≥ 1090
AP Exam v AP Course Participation
• In the context of college admissions, UC-Berkeley
researchers Geiser & Santelices (2004)
investigated the role of AP course participation
and exam performance in predicting:
• First-year GPA
• Discipline-specific GPA
• For admission at University of California, students
obtain additional “bonus points” for approved AP
and honors courses. Policy intended to
encourage rigorous course taking in high school
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AP & College Admissions: Results
• Using UC data, the Berkeley researchers studied the role of several
variables in predicting college GPA:
• HSGPA, SAT I scores, SAT II scores
• SES, Parents’ education
• Number of AP/honors courses
• AP Examination performance
• Findings indicated that:
• While the number of AP courses was not a significant predictor of
college GPA
• AP Exam performance was “among the very best predictors of
college performance. . . . The subject-specific, curriculum-intensive
AP exams are the epitome of ‘achievement tests,’ and their validity in
predicting college performance should not be surprising.”
61
AP Scores of 3+ on AP Exams are Strongly Predictive of a Higher
Rate of College Graduation
College Graduation Rate differences between “matched” AP and non-AP students
Student Demographic
62
AP Exam Grade of
3 or higher
African-American
21% higher
Hispanic
27% higher
White
19% higher
Low-Income
32% higher
Not Low-Income
23% higher
Source: Chrys Dougherty, Lynn Mellor, and Shuling Jian, The Relationship Between Advanced Placement and College Graduation (National Center for Educational
Accountability, 2006)
Does granting AP credit result in student avoidance of
further studies in that discipline? Data show the
opposite:
63
Source: Morgan, Rick and Behroz Maneckshana. AP Students in College: An Investigation of Their Course Taking Patterns and College Majors. Princeton: ETS , 2000.
Reminders about Setting Institutional AP Credit &
Placement Policies
• Anecdotal information should not be a basis for evaluating/changing
institutional AP credit and placement policies
• Ensure campus-based research is used
• Utilize College Board’s free placement study service – ACES (Admitted
Class Evaluation Service)
• Before changing any campus AP policies, thoroughly understand how
any change could potentially impact student enrollment behavior
• Are your key overlap institutions providing more AP credit or better
placement opportunities for students?
• Educate faculty, deans and senior administrators on the possible
ramifications of restricting AP credit and placement policies without
understanding first AP student performance on your campus
• Ensure AP credit and placement policies are organized and easily
accessible on your admission Web site
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What are the Best Guidelines for Establishing AP
Credit & Placement Policies?
1) Understand What an AP Exam Grade Represents
• AP curriculum based on equivalent college courses identified by college
faculty
• AP conducts comparability studies to first-year equivalent courses
ensuring AP scores standards meet or exceed the standards of institutions
nationally
2) Use Data and Research on the Performance of AP
Students in College
• Utilize recent, peer-reviewed, and published research studies to
compare AP performance against non-AP peers in higher-level
courses
• Track subsequent performance of your AP students in upper
division courses
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http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/colleges/research/0
,,154-181-0-0,00.html
What are the Best Guidelines for Establishing AP
Credit & Placement Policies?
3) Review External Recommendations
• American Council on Education (ACE) recommends a 3, 4 and 5
should be awarded credit
4) Review AP Curricula and AP Exams
• Review AP curricula and exam questions to gauge level
of content mastery required and its relation to your
institution’s requirements
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AP Credit Policies on collegeboard.com
• Searchable by institution for
students, parents and school
counselors
• For each institution that
provided their AP credit policy
information, you can find the
following:
• A link to the institution’s own
Web page that details
its AP credit and placement
policies
• A statement by the college or
university about their
AP policy
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http://www.collegeboard.com/ap/creditpolicy