What is it about?
Advanced Placement (AP) classes provide academic benefits to high school students--but only if the students prepare for and take the AP test. Otherwise, there are no benefits.
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Why is it important?
Over 2 million students per year take AP courses, yet it is not clear whether students benefit from merely enrolling in AP or if the AP test is a necessary part of the AP experience. This study shows that the test is essential to receiving benefits from AP.
Perspectives
This is not the first study on the academic benefits of AP, but it has the most academically diverse sample and is the largest study of the AP program outside of the College Board.
Dr Russell T. Warne
Independent Scholar
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The Impact of Participation in the Advanced Placement Program on Students' College Admissions Test Scores, The Journal of Educational Research, May 2015, Taylor & Francis,
DOI: 10.1080/00220671.2014.917253.
You can read the full text:
Resources
Video summary
A 10-minute video version of the article.
Infographic
Infographic describing the study and its results.
Press release
University press release about the study.
Publisher press release
Journal publisher's press release about the study.
The Columbian news article
Story about how a high school in the Vancouver, Washington, area is approaching rigor in non-AP classes. The reporter mentions the study and links to it.
PBS News Hour story
PBS News Hour story that references the study. The author's main message of the article is that AP can work hand-in-hand with technical education. I endorse that viewpoint completely, and I enjoyed speaking with the reporter.
Contributors
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