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,…

The purpose of this sequential mixed methods study was to examine the relationship among student achievement factors, gifted and talented status and post-secondary readiness. The study included a review of archived data obtained from a large district in the southeastern region of Texas consisting of a purposeful sample of AP students' who took an…

Over the years, the nation's large urban school districts have consistently learned from the progress of their peer districts across the country. Great City School districts that have embraced the challenge of educating America's urban children have recognized the value of benchmarking their performance and growth against the progress of others.…

In an educational environment that has limited resources, and greater pressures for increased academic standards, what is the best option to help prepare high school students for college academics? This research study: "A Mixed Method Study of the Impact of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and Dual Enrollment Courses on…

The study presented here is an investigation and comparison of the relationships between the Advanced Placement Program® (AP®) and dual-enrolled high school courses and college outcomes. Previous research provides evidence that participation in AP, and subsequent success on AP Exams, is positively related to various college outcomes including 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…

This First Look introduces new data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009, collected in 2013 when most sample members were recent high school graduates, and in 2014 from the high school transcripts of students who were freshmen in 2009. The analyses examine students' high school completion status; plans for postsecondary enrollment and…

A substantial amount of research examines the benefits of high school college-credit attainment programs against non-participation. The growth in popularity of these programs, particularly Advanced Placement (AP) and dual enrollment (DE), has them competing against one another for student attention. However, students, schools, and policymakers do…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the low participation rate among high school students 18 years of age or older in Advanced Placement courses. The subjects in this study were 129 Advanced Placement Students and 129 non-Advanced Placement high school students 18 years of age or older in five high schools in two Louisiana parishes.…

This report presents information about the types of courses that high school graduates in the class of 2009 took during high school, how many credits they earned, and the grades they received. Information on the relationships between high school coursetaking records and performance in mathematics and science on the National Assessment of…

This application study investigates whether the multiple-choice to composite linking functions that determine Advanced Placement Program exam grades remain invariant over subgroups defined by region. Three years of test data from an AP exam are used to study invariance across regions. The study focuses on two questions: (a) How invariant are grade…

This report examines the path to college for students in academically advanced programs-- graduates of Chicago's seven Selective Enrollment schools, those who completed International Baccalaureate programs, and graduates who had taken a sequence of at least six honors and two Advanced Placement classes. This report expands on the findings of…

The purpose of this study was to address the validity of grades of 3 on AP® Examinations and to compare AP students to other relevant student groups. While research has shown that students who earn grades of 3 or higher and place out of introductory courses do well in the subsequent courses, there are some college faculty members who think this is…