High school students enroll in Advanced Placement (AP) courses and take AP exams for a variety of reasons. However, a lack of information about the extent to which there are incremental benefits associated with taking multiple AP exams has fostered a perception that students must take many APs to be prepared for college. Conversely, many American…

The focus of this study is to explore college outcomes for students who come from traditionally lower-income backgrounds, reporting a household income of $30,000 or less, and who were awarded a fee reduction to take one or more Advanced Placement® (AP®) Exams, compared to students with a similar background and ability who did not participate in an…

When educators see that two students received a B in a particular course in two different schools and/or years, does it indicate the same level of understanding and achievement for both students? This paper addresses the assumption that grades are equivalent within subjects across schools and years. By comparing course grades to a standardized…

Advanced Placement Program Summer Institute (APSI) courses provide teachers with an overview of the curriculum, structure, and content of specific AP courses. Attention is devoted not only to the development of curriculum but also to teaching strategies and the relationship of the course to the AP Examination. During the summers of 2006 and 2007,…

[Slides] presented at the American Educational Research Association (AERA) in 2009. This study investigated the presence of a general rise in high school grades without a corresponding rise in SAT scores, as well as different grading criteria between schools, as shown by differential relationships between AP course grades and exam scores. These…