ERIC Number: EJ1459401
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025
Pages: 32
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1557-3060
EISSN: EISSN-1557-3079
The Advanced Placement Program and Educational Inequality
Stephanie Owen
Education Finance and Policy, v20 n1 p1-32 2025
The Advanced Placement (AP) program is widely offered in American high schools and has been touted as a way to close racial and socioeconomic gaps in educational outcomes. Using administrative data from Michigan, I exploit variation within high schools across time in AP course offerings to identify the relationship between AP course availability, AP participation, and postsecondary outcomes. I find that students from non economically disadvantaged families, White and Asian students, and higher-achieving students are more likely to take advantage of additional AP courses when they are offered, thus widening existing gaps in course-taking. I find little evidence that additional AP availability is related to improved college outcomes for any students, with the exception of the most academically prepared students. Expanding access to AP courses without additional incentives or support for disadvantaged students to succeed is unlikely to address educational inequality.
Descriptors: Advanced Placement Programs, Equal Education, Socioeconomic Status, Social Differences, Correlation, Access to Education, Economically Disadvantaged, Outcomes of Education, Higher Education, High School Students, Student Characteristics, Academic Achievement, College Preparation, Incentives, Race
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Related Records: ED663732
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education; High Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Institute of Education Sciences (ED)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Michigan
IES Funded: Yes
Grant or Contract Numbers: R305B150012