To evaluate how Advanced Placement (AP) courses affect college-going, we randomly assigned the offer of enrollment into an AP science course to over 1,800 students in twenty-three schools that had not previously offered the course. We find no AP course effects on students' college entrance exam scores (SAT/ACT). As expected, AP course-takers are…

Dual enrollment (DuE) is an opportunity for high school students to take college-level courses. Participation in dual enrollment allows students to earn high school and college credit simultaneously; thus, decreasing students' time to complete a college degree and saving them tuition costs. Other questions answered in the guide include: (1) How…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate disproportionality with respect to Advanced Placement (AP) opportunities for students of color, post qualification, for special education services via the label Specific Learning Disability (SLD). Multiple data sources including existing data, surveys, and semi structured interviews were…

This Research Brief summarizes the performance of Miami-Dade County Public Schools (MDCPS) students participating in the International Baccalaureate (IB) program. The IB program was offered at six M-DCPS high schools in 2022-2023. Over 3,200 assessments were completed by M-DCPS students in 30 subject areas in 2022-2023. The number of IB…

In this study, we used an extreme case approach to examine the facilitators and barriers of cognitive engagement among freshmen in Advanced Placement (AP) or Pre-International Baccalaureate (IB) courses. Twelve ninth-grade AP/IB students participated in semistructured interviews focused on cognitive engagement. After analyzing the data using a…

The purpose of Advanced Placement (AP) courses is to prepare students for college. Many colleges and universities award college credit for students who are able to make a passing score on the AP exam. Data from the College Board shines light on the inequities present with African American students and their enrollment in AP courses. Moreover,…

This study explores the direction and magnitude of racial disparities on three advanced placement (AP) computer science (CS) exams, namely AP CS Principles, AP CS A, and AP CS AB, based on the test scores of more than one million students who have taken AP CS exams between 1997 and 2020. Using Mann-Kendall test and Sen's slope procedures we found…

Background: Early Colleges (ECs) are a type of rapidly growing dual enrollment program proven to be successful in helping underrepresented students get a jumpstart on their postsecondary education. To date, the most rigorous evidence on the impact of ECs has come from two lottery-based natural experiments conducted by the SERVE Center (Edmunds et…

This memorandum provides information pertinent to the participation and performance of Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) examinations for 2023 graduates in Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS). In 2023, 59.3% of MCPS graduates took one or more AP exams; 17.3 percentage points more than graduates in Maryland and 24.6…

This Research Brief summarizes the performance of Miami-Dade County Public Schools (MDCPS) students participating in the International Baccalaureate (IB) program. The IB program was offered at six M-DCPS high schools in 2021-2022. Over 3,000 assessments were completed by M-DCPS students in 30 subject areas in 2021-2022. The number of IB…

Advanced Placement classes are introductory college courses taught in high school. Over 60% of all secondary gifted programs report utilizing AP classes as part of their program offerings (Callahan et al., 2017). Despite the prevalence of AP courses, there is no exact match between this particular type of programming and the needs of gifted…

The emphasis on testing within the curriculum in high schools in the United States has led to fewer opportunities for students to participate in elective courses. Federal and state testing mandates have contributed to the trend of students taking higher-level courses such as Advanced Placement (AP) and College in the High School (CHS) at the…

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of Equal Opportunity Schools on high school minority achievement in Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) courses. The 48% of students in this research study were identified as minority students, which means they were identified as non-white or African American/Black,…

Gamification is a teaching strategy often praised for its effectiveness in the classroom. The problem was the lack of information regarding teachers' perceptions regarding gamification in high school Advanced Placement (AP) computer science courses. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the perceptions of computer science teachers…

Dual Credit, also known as dual enrollment or concurrent enrollment, has been offered at colleges and universities since the 1970s (Kim & Bragg, 2008). Dual credit programs allow students to take college-level courses while still in high school and receive both college and high school credit for successful completion of the courses. While much…