Workshop Outline

Advanced Placement Articulation and Policy Making for Enrollment ManagersFebruary 10, 2008

Boyd Bradshaw, Saint Louis UniversityMichael Kabbaz, College Board Sally Lindsley, University of Michigan Gordon Mork, Purdue UniversityTed Spencer, University of Michigan

2

Workshop Outline

•Michael Kabbaz: AP overview - (50 minutes)• AP Program Data; Field Research; Latest Validity Research; AP Course Audit

Update; and Credit and Placement Policy Considerations

• 10 minute break

• Boyd Bradshaw - 25 minutes

• Ted Spencer and Sally Lindsley - 25 minutes

•Gordon Mork - 25 minutes

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First Session: AP Overview AgendaAP Program Overview

• Data highlights

• What’s New in AP

• AP Course Audit/Ledger

• Field Research

• Recent AP Validity Research

• Credit and Placement Policy Considerations

4

College Board’s Mission

The College Board’s mission is to connect students to college success and opportunity. We are a not-for-profit membership organization committed to excellence and equity in education.

5

AP Participation Statement: Achieving Equity With a Focus on Quality and Preparation

All prepared students who are willing to accept the challenge of a rigorous academic curriculum should be considered for admission to AP courses. The Board encourages the elimination of Board encourages the elimination of barriers that restrict access to AP courses for barriers that restrict access to AP courses for students from ethnic, racial, and students from ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic groups that have been socioeconomic groups that have been traditionally underrepresentedtraditionally underrepresented in the AP Program. Schools should make every effort to ensure that their AP classes reflect the diversity of their student population.

6

What Sort of AP Experience Consistently Addresses Student College Success?• The College Board encourages participation in AP,

and believes students should be encouraged and supported in taking on the challenge of a college-level course in high school.

• While students may benefit from AP even if they don’t learn at the level that will produce a score of 3 or better on the AP Exam, it is vital that partnerships between K-12, higher education, states and the College Board focus on helping students achieve a score of 3 or better, which is the level of performance research consistently finds is predictive of college success.

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AP Overview

Since 1955, AP has been providing high school students with rigorous course work that is comparable to entry-level college courses

37 Advanced Placement exams in 22 subject areas

World Languages expansion:Italian (2006), Chinese and Japanese (2007)

AP Exams, which colleges utilize for credit, placement or both, are given annually in May.

8

Some Key Benefits of AP• AP courses establish a college-level standard in secondary

schools that is measured through a national assessment designed and scored by college faculty.

• AP courses expose college-bound students to the amounts of homework, study skills, and habits of mind essential for success in college courses.

• AP provides leverage for aligning and strengthening the grades 6-12 curriculum.

• Students who take AP Exams and score a 3 or higher typically experience greater academic success and college graduation rates than non-AP students.

• The AP course is typically the most rigorous curriculum offered in secondary schools and is designated on the student transcript.

• Because AP is widely used for college credit and/or placement, it attracts motivated students eager to double major, or engage in deeper, upper-division courses at college.

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Who Participates in AP?

• 16,000+ secondary schools worldwide offer AP exams

• More than 120,000 AP teachers in over 14,300 schools worldwide teach AP courses

• In 2007, over 1.4 million students took about 2.5 million exams

• 4,700+ college faculty develop and score the AP Exams ensuring college-level standards

• 3,500+ colleges receive AP Exam scores annually

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Faculty Expertise is Essential in Every Facet of AP Course and Exam Development• Pre-test AP Exams by embedding them within exams offered in

the college classroom

• Write AP Exam questions and develop all AP course descriptions

• College faculty serve as Chairs of all AP Development Committees

• Score the free-response sections of AP Exams by attending the AP Reading at a college campus or convention center every June

• College faculty serve as Chief Readers for all exam gradings

• Teach professional development institutes for experienced and new AP teachers

• Participate in the annual audit of courses labeled “AP” by reviewing electronic copies of AP teachers’ syllabi to provide feedback

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What do AP Exam Grades Represent? Each AP Exam grade is a weighted combination of the

student's score on the multiple-choice section and on the free-response section. The final grade is reported on a 5-point scale:

5 = extremely well qualified4 = well qualified 3 = qualified 2 = possibly qualified 1 = no recommendation

• AP grades of 5 and 4 are comparable to a college course grade of A, while at some institutions, an AP grade of 4 is comparable to a college course grade of B

• An AP grade of 3 is approximately equal to a college course grade of B at many institutions, while at others it is more nearly comparable to a college course grade of C.

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To identify the number of points AP students must earn on the AP Exam, college professors regularly administer AP Exams to their own college students in order to ensure comparability between the standards applied to college students and the standards AP students must meet.

College Faculty Ensure Rigor and Quality of AP Standards by Participating in Comparability Studies

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Faculty at the Following Institutions Pre-Administered AP Exams in 2007

• Baylor U

• Brigham Young U

• Duke U

• Grinnell College

• Harvard U

• Michigan State U

• Middlebury College

• Princeton U

• Purdue U

• Smith College

• Stanford U

• Tufts U

• UCLA

• UC-Berkeley

• U of Colorado-Boulder

• U of Maryland-College Park

• UNC-Chapel Hill

• U of Pennsylvania

• University of Southern California

• U of Virginia

• U of Washington

• U of Wisconsin-Madison

• Washington U

• Yale U

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AP Continues to Grow in the Number of Participating Schools, Students and Exams

13,000

13,500

14,000

14,500

15,000

15,500

16,000

16,500

17,000

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Schools

AP Growth: No. of Schools

AP Growth: Students/Exams

Source: The College Board SDRS

0

500,000

1,000,000

1,500,000

2,000,000

2,500,000

3,000,000

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Students Exams

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Despite AP’s Growth, Participation in AP is Limited, Even Among College-Bound Students• While about 74% of U.S. high school

graduates are entering college, less than a fourth (24.2%) took an AP Exam during their high school years

• And within the fraction of students who take AP:

• 82 percent took just 1, 2, or 3 AP Exams during their entire 4 years of high school

• Less than 4 percent took 7 or more AP Exams during their entire 4 years of high schoolSource: AP Report to the Nation; College Board SDRS

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AP Exam Fee Reduction for Low-Income Students

The College Board believes the cost of the AP Exam should not be a barrier for low-income students.

• The College Board provides a $22 fee reduction per exam for students with financial need. For each eligible student, secondary schools should also forgo their $8/per exam rebate.

• More than 40 states and U.S. territories use federal and/or state funds to help cover all or part of the remaining cost to the student.

More information on state exam fee subsidies:http://professionals.collegeboard.com/testing/ap/about/fees

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AP Participation Growth Rate is Greatest Among Low-Income, African American, and Latino students

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007

Hispanic African American Low Income Asian American Indian

Low Income – 142%*

Hispanic – 91%*

African American – 105%*

Source: SDRS 2002-2007

American Indian – 82%*

Asian – 62%*

* - represents percentage growth from 2002

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Increasing Numbers of Traditionally Underserved Students are Now Earning Scores of 3 or Better

0

20,000

40,000

60,000

80,000

100,000

120,000

140,000

2002 2007

African American HispanicLow Income American Indian

Source: SDRS 2002-2007 * - represents percentage growth from 2002

Hispanic – 62%*

Low Income – 97%*

African American – 73%*

American Indian – 80%*

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However, Significant Achievement Gaps Remain and are a Concern the College Board is Seeking to Address Percent of Total Exams Scored 1, 2, or

3+:

All Exams and Low Income (FR) Exams

25%

39%36%

59%

23%18%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Score of 1 Score of 2 Score of 3+

Low Income AP Exams All AP Exams

23%

43%

28% 28%30%

24%

46%

26%

30%

44%

13%

64%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Score of 1 Score of 2 Score of 3+White African AmericanHispanic American Indian

Percent of Total Exams Scored 1, 2, or 3+:

By Ethnic / Racial Category

Source: SDRS 2006 data

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What’s New in AP?

• AP Course Audit

• Release of the AP Course Ledger

• Field Research Overview

• Admission Officer Perceptions

• College Faculty Perceptions

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What is the AP Course Audit?

Created at the request of secondary school and college members of the College Board, the AP Course Audit was designed to:

• Provide teachers and administrators with clear guidelines on curricular and resource requirements that must be in place before labeling a course “AP”; and

• Ensure consistency and currency across the curriculum of courses labeled “AP.”

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How is the AP Course Audit Conducted?• From 2004-2006, college faculty nationwide

established the criteria for earning the AP designation; these criteria are publicly available on the Web

• From 2006-2007, teachers and principals desiring to continue to label their courses “AP” submitted their curricula for review by college faculty.

• More than 800 select college and university faculty currently conduct the audit on behalf of the College Board.• These professors represent a diverse range of institutions

such as Yale University, Florida State University, and Haverford College

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The Outcome of the AP Course Audit• Qualifying schools receive legal

authorization to use the “AP” label on their school profile and student transcripts, and are included in the public ledger of official AP courses.

• For 2007-08, the “AP” designation is now restricted to courses in approximately 14,300 secondary schools worldwide.

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Course Audit: What Was the Impact? A recent survey of 26,000 teachers who participated in the

audit provided such a statistically significant sample size to justify the following claims about the impact of the audit. Hundreds of thousands of high school students will benefit from the increased resources they now receive due to the audit, which enabled a projected:

• 17,000 teachers to prevent reductions in lab time and instructional time that were scheduled to affect their courses;

• 16,000 teachers to obtain more current college textbooks for their students;

• 22,000 teachers to incorporate advances in the discipline that had not yet been added into their curricula; and

• 16,000 teachers to receive increased funding from their school or district for professional development.

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Course Audit: What Was the Impact? The vast majority of AP teachers felt the AP

Course Audit curricular requirements were broad and flexible enough to permit a wide variety of approaches to teaching an AP course, while at the same time, providing them a valuable opportunity to reflect upon their course and its relationship to colleges' rigorous expectations.

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AP Course Audit Results are Accessible: AP Course Ledger

• Searchable database of over 136,200 courses and 14,300 secondary schools worldwide authorized to carry the “AP” label

• Search database by high school, high school code, city, state, and subject

• Entire database is able to be downloaded to be integrated into campus system

collegeboard.com/apcourseledger

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AP Course Ledger: Possible Uses?• Confirmation of AP

courses taught in high schools

• Possible tool for targeted recruitment of high schools• Search on secondary

schools with specialized content areas, such as world languages

collegeboard.com/apcourseledger

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Field Research: Attitudes, Beliefs, Needs, Wants – What Do We Know?Beginning in spring 2007 and continuing through this year, the

AP Program is undertaking the largest study of stakeholders’ values ever conducted by AP. Large, representative samples are being gathered from the following groups:

• AP Teachers

• College Admissions Officers

• College Department Chairs

• AP Coordinators

• School and district administrators

• AP exam Readers

• Students

• Parents

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Higher Education’s Support for K-12 is Critical if Secondary Schools are to Continue to Increase Academic Opportunities for Students

17%

38%

51%

62%

63%

68%

73%

74%

76%

77%

77%

90%

0%

AP Exam Administration Via the Internet

AP Exams - Less Material, More Depth

Later AP Test Dates

Better Student Prep for AP Rigor

Fed/State Funding for AP Exam Fees

No AP Exam Price Increase

Improve Quality of AP Teachers

Fed / State Funding for AP Teacher PD

Address Teacher Concerns about Curriculum

Colleges Stress Importance in Admissions

College Award Placement into Higher Level Courses

Colleges Award Credit

Source: Crux Market Research Inc. (2006): AP Teachers – Q345 Base: (n=3,417)

To sustain your school’s current level of participation in AP, how important is it that…

% Extremely / Very Important

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School and District Administrators also Affirmed the Importance of Higher Education’s Support

Source: Crux Market Research Inc. (2006): Administrators – Q313_02 Base: (n=604)

36%

10% 2%13%

0% 0%

52%

0%

54%

32%

ExtremelyImportant

Very Important SomewhatImportant

Not Very Important Not at All Important

Building Administrators

District Administrators

To sustain your school’s/district’s level of participation in AP, how important is the fact that colleges award credit for AP

Scores?

Nearly 90% of Bldg and District Administrators

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Why do Students take AP Courses?

Which of these are reasons why you have decided to take AP?

75%

67%

55%

63%

49%44%

Challenge myselfacademically

Build skills I'llneed to succeed

at college

Interested in aspecific APsubject area

Stand out inadmissions

process

Save money byhaving earnedcollege credit

Place out of anintroductory

course

AP Students

Source: Crux Market Research Inc. (2006): Q310

Intrinsic Reasons Extrinsic Reasons

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Credit / Placement Opportunities Remain the Strongest Drivers of the Decision to Take the AP Exam

Which are key reasons why you would take an AP Examat the end of an AP course?

66%62%

55% 54%

Potentially save money incollege by earning

college credit

Place out of courses, andmove directly to moreadvanced coursework

Taking the exam is justpart of the whole AP

experience

Show how well I masteredthe college-level course

AP Students

Source: Crux

Market Research Inc. (2006): Q630

Extrinsic Reasons Intrinsic Reasons

What is the Current AP Experience Among Colleges?

A Wide Range of Institutions Report Increasesin the Proportion of Students with AP Experience

89%

70%

83%92%

85%

68%

Selective Non-Selective Top Third Middle Third Bottom Third Not in Top 200

AdmissionsTop 200 colleges based

on AP score report volume

Over the past few years, has the proportion of your department’s students who took AP coursework in high school been…?

(% Increasing)

Source: Crux Market Research Inc. (2006): Q630 Dept. Chairs – Q315 Base: (n=125) / Admissions – Q315 Base: (n=125)

AP Policies are Not Affecting Application Volume or Tuition Revenue

Which of the following are true at your institution?

10% 6% 7%10%

Restrictions on AP credit/placement discourage somequalified applicants from choosing to enroll at your

institution

You have concerns about a potential loss in revenuethat may occur when you grant college credit for AP

scores

Admissions Department Chairs

Source: Crux Market Research Inc. (2006): Admissions – Q245 Base: (n=125) / Dept. Chairs – Q245 Base: (n=125)

49% 49%

2%

Getting better Getting worse Staying about the same

Admissions

College Preparedness of Their Incoming AP Students Has Been Either Improving or Constant, Not Worse

Over the past few years, has the degree of college preparedness of your students with AP experience been…?

Source: Crux Market Research Inc. (2006):Admissions – Q320 Base: (n=125)

Most Admissions Officers Find AP Experience Helpfulin Evaluating Admissions Candidates

When evaluating a candidate for admission, how helpful is it to evaluate their AP course experience?

Source: Crux Market Research Inc. (2006): Admissions – Q300 Base: (n=125)

Extremely Helpful, 30%

Very Helpful, 44%

Somewhat Helpful, 19%

Not Very Helpful, 2%

Not at All Helpful, 5%

74% Extremely or Very Helpful“We look favorably on students

who have taken AP courses. The presence of AP courses is a sign that a student has chosen to challenge him/herself.”

AP Admissions Officer Online Bulletin Board

27%

11%16%

11%2% 2%

58%

2%

56%

16%

Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree

Admissions (selective institutions)

Admissions (non-selective institutions)

A Vast Majority of Admissions Officers Report that AP Course Experience Favorably Impacts Admissions Decisions


41%

2%

57%

There will be no change in how youuse AP

You will use AP less than you donow

You will use AP more than you donow

Admissions

41% of Admissions Officers Anticipate an Increase in the Use of AP in Admissions in the Future

Think about the use of AP in admissions decisions at your institution. Five years from now, do you expect that …?


Higher among selective institutions (47%)

Many Admissions Officers Find AP to be More Meaningful Today than it has in the Past

On the whole, do you feel that having AP on a college transcript is …?


More meaningful

today than it has been in the

past, 30%

No difference, 54%

Less meaningful

today than it has been in the

past, 15%

“Because of the growth of the AP program, such that the coursework is more readily available at schools…thus making it more useful for broad-based comparisons.”

Admissions Officer telephone survey

“Because AP is now available to so many different schools, which are clearly not equal.”

Admissions Officer telephone survey Why?

Why?

Colleges Use AP to Determine Preparedness, Student Motivation, and for Placement

How does your institution use AP, if at all, to support admissions decisions?

20%

27%

31%

37%

58%

74%

83%

83%

2%To make loan decisions

To guard against grade inflation

To sort applicants into evaluation groupings

As a criterion for awarding scholarships

As a secondary criterion for admissions

To evaluate candidates from a range of high schools

To place students in appropriate courses

As an indicator of a student’s motivation/willingness tochallenge him/herself

To determine how prepared a student is for the rigor ofcollege academics


“We consider the learning environment for each applicant – how many AP’s are offered and how many has the student taken advantage of and grades earned.”

AP Admissions Officer Online Bulletin Board

Strong Support from Department Chairs on Providing AP Credit or Placement to Students

In general, would you say you favor or oppose allowing AP studentsto receive credit or placement in your department?

Source: Crux Market Research Inc. (2006): Dept. Chairs – Q240 Base: (n=125)

Strongly Favor, 42%

Favor, 34%

Neutral, 16%

Oppose, 6%

Strongly Oppose, 2%

76% Strongly Favor or Favor

Most Department Chairs Report that Their Institution Uses AP for Both Credit and Placement

Does your institution’s AP policy allow students to apply AP scores for …?

Source: Crux Market Research Inc. (2006): Dept. Chairs – Q300 Base: (n=125)

Credit purposes

only?, 16%

Placement purposes only?, 5%

Both credit and

placement?, 76%

We do not have an AP policy, 3%

13%

74% 74%

13%16%

10%

Easier Harder No change


Most Admissions Officers and Department Chairs Report Little Change in the Ease or Difficulty for Students to Obtain Course Credit

Over the past few years, has your institution/department made it harder or easier for students to use their AP exam score to obtain

credit or skip introductory courses?

Source: Crux Market Research Inc. (2006): Admissions – Q355 Base: (n=125 / Dept. Chairs – Q355 Base: (n=125)

28%

16%

8%

26%

8%

15%17%18%

Cap the total number ofAP credits a student canapply at your institution

Not allow students to useAP to satisfy requirements

in their major

Allow students to use APcredits for placement, butnot to reduce their course

load in college

Require a student to takeat least one course in adepartment in order to

use AP credit


Some Colleges and Universities Tailor Their AP Exam Polices

Does your institution/department…?


Colleges Want Assurance that AP Quality is Consistent Across High Schools and are Interested in Seeing the Relationship Between AP and College Success

How important is the following to you?% Extremely / Very Important

62% 60%

86%

72%

Providing evidence that thequality of AP courses andinstruction is consistent

across high schools

Providing research thatshows the relationship

between AP participation andcollege success

Providing evidence that AP'scourse curriculum was based

on input and review fromnational scholars specializing

in curriculum development

Providing research thatshows the relationship

between AP course gradesand AP exam scores

Admissions

Source: Crux Market Research Inc. (2006): Admissions – Q700/Q701 Base: (n=125) / Department Chairs – Q700/Q701 Base: (n=125)

45%

25%

43%

36%

42%

42%

48%

39%

12%

32%

10%

26%

Dept. Chairs (Non-Selective)

Dept. Chairs (Selective)

Admissions (Non-Selective)

Admissions (Selective)

Extremely/Very Important Somewhat Important Not Very/Not at All Important

The More Selective the Institution, the Less the Collegeis Concerned About Having the Same AP Policies as Peers

How important is it that your AP policies are the same as peer institutions?


“We care and like to see what other schools are doing in their academic and admission policies.”

Participant, AP Admissions Officer Online Bulletin Board

Most Institutions are Doing Something to Monitor Peer Institution AP Policies; Departments are More Active than Admissions Realizes

What does your institution do to monitor what peer institutionsare doing with regard to AP?

30%

18%

22%22%

16%

45%

7%

33%

Your institution surveysother institutions to

document their policies

Someone in admissions isassigned to monitor peer

institution policies

Individual departmentsmonitor this

Nothing



Mean Overall Satisfaction (10 point scale)

Satisfaction Levels for AP and IB are Similar

Source: Crux Market Research Inc. (2006) Admissions – Q385 Base: (n=125), Colleges that have students with IB/DE experience Q445/Q540 Base: (n=114/116)

Admissions – Q385 Base: (n=125), Colleges that have students with IB/DE experience Q445/Q540 Base: (n=80/53)

6.1

7.4 7.3

5.7

6.6 6.6

AP Program IB Program Dual Enrollment

Admissions Officers Department Chairs“[AP and IB] are both rigorous programs that should be taken very seriously…both are highly respected by admissions committees.”

Admissions Officer telephone survey

Half of Department Chairs Feel that Students with any Advanced Coursework Experience are Equally Likely to Succeed in Their Department

33%

47%

12%

6%DE students

IB Students

AP Students

They all perform equally

Department Chairs

Which students tend to succeed more in your department?

Source: Crux Market Research Inc. (2006):Base - Department Chairs from colleges that have students with AP and IB experience – Q615 Base: (n=100)

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While much caution should be exercised in interpreting AP’s impact, research continues to establish strong connections between AP and college success.

AP Research

52

Course Placement: Research

• Two large scale studies have collected official student transcript data from numerous colleges and universities (Morgan & Ramist, 1998; Morgan & Klaric, 2007)

• Institutions varied by location, selectivity, and curriculum emphasis

• No. of institutions in both studies exceeded 20

• Compared subsequent course grades of AP students with an exam grade of > 3 who were exempted from the introductory course to the subsequent course grades of students who took the introductory course

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Course Placement: Research Results• AP students exempted from the introductory course generally did at least as well, if not better, in the subsequent course as those who took the introductory course

• Magnitude of achievement difference generally varied as a function of the students’ AP Exams grades

• That is, students earning higher exam grades tended to do better, on average, in the subsequent course than those earning lower exam grades.

54

Course Placement: Research

UT Austin Study (Keng & Dodd, 2007)• Followed 4 cohorts of entering freshmen (1998-

2001) enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin.

• Results showed that AP students who placed out of introductory college courses as a result of successful AP exam grades (i.e., the AP credit group) earned significantly higher college GPAs in the subject area of their exam and took more credit hours in the subject area of their exam than non-AP students.

• Non-AP students were matched to the AP group in terms of high school rank and admission test scores (i.e., SAT and ACT).

55

AP Students with Credit Outperformed Non-AP Students

56

AP & College Success: Results

• Students who take AP Exams more likely to:• Earn at least a B average in their freshman year

• Maintain that average for the duration of their college career

• Graduate with academic honors (Willingham & Morris, 1986)

• Students who earn 3 or better on AP Exam more likely to: • Graduate from college in five years or less compared to

non-AP students, even after controlling for prior academic achievement, SES, % low income, and district dropout rate (Dougherty, Mellor, & Jian, 2006).

57

AP Exam v AP Course ParticipationTexas Statewide Study (Hargrove, Godin, & Dodd, 2007)• Provides an extensive comparison of students’

performance on several college outcomes (first and fourth-year GPA and 4-year graduation status) by various groups

• AP course and exam group

• AP course only group

• Standard high school courses group

• Controls for SAT scores and SES (as measured by Free or Reduced Price Lunch status)

58

Hargrove, Godin, & Dodd, 2007

• The “AP course and exam” group significantly outperformed the “standard high school courses” group on all college outcomes in all years, after statistically controlling for SAT scores and SES.

• The “AP course and exam” group also significantly outperformed the “AP course only” group on all college outcomes.

59

First-Year College GPA for AP and non-AP groups by SAT Score Category

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

≤ 850 860-970 980-1080 ≥ 1090

SAT Score Category

Fir

st-

ye

ar

GP

A

Standard High SchoolCourse

AP Course Only

AP Course and Exam

60

AP Exam v AP Course Participation• In the context of college admissions, UC-Berkeley researchers Geiser & Santelices (2004) investigated the role of AP course participation and exam performance in predicting: • First-year GPA

• Discipline-specific GPA

• For admission at University of California, students obtain additional “bonus points” for approved AP and honors courses. Policy intended to encourage rigorous course taking in high school

61

AP & College Admissions: Results• Using UC data, the Berkeley researchers studied the role of

several variables in predicting college GPA:

• HSGPA, SAT I scores, SAT II scores

• SES, Parents’ education

• Number of AP/honors courses

• AP Examination performance

• Findings indicated that:

• While the number of AP courses was not a significant predictor of college GPA

• AP Exam performance was “among the very best predictors of college performance. . . . The subject-specific, curriculum-intensive AP exams are the epitome of ‘achievement tests,’ and their validity in predicting college performance should not be surprising.”

62

Source: Chrys Dougherty, Lynn Mellor, and Shuling Jian, The Relationship Between Advanced Placement and College Graduation (National Center for Educational Accountability, 2006)

AP Scores of 3+ on AP Exams are Strongly Predictive of a Higher Rate of College Graduation

Student DemographicAP Exam Grade of 3 or higher

African-American 21% higher

Hispanic 27% higher

White 19% higher

Low-Income 32% higher

Not Low-Income 23% higher

College Graduation Rate differences between “matched” AP and non-AP students

63

Does granting AP credit result in student avoidance of further studies in that discipline? Data show the opposite:

Source: Morgan, Rick and Behroz Maneckshana. AP Students in College: An Investigation of Their Course Taking Patterns and College Majors. Princeton: ETS , 2000.

64

• Anecdotal information should not be a basis for evaluating/changing institutional AP credit and placement policies

• Ensure campus-based research is used• Utilize College Board’s free placement study service – ACES (Admitted

Class Evaluation Service)

• Before changing any campus AP policies, thoroughly understand how any change could potentially impact student enrollment behavior• Are your key overlap institutions providing more AP credit or better

placement opportunities for students?

• Educate faculty, deans and senior administrators on the possible ramifications of restricting AP credit and placement policies without understanding first AP student performance on your campus

• Ensure AP credit and placement policies are organized and easily accessible on your admission Web site

Reminders about Setting Institutional AP Credit & Placement Policies

65

What are the Best Guidelines for Establishing AP Credit & Placement Policies?1) Understand What an AP Exam Grade Represents• AP curriculum based on equivalent college courses identified by

college faculty

• AP conducts comparability studies to first-year equivalent courses ensuring AP scores standards meet or exceed the standards of institutions nationally

2) Use Data and Research on the Performance of AP Students in College• Utilize recent, peer-reviewed, and published research

studies to compare AP performance against non-AP peers in higher-level courses

• Track subsequent performance of your AP students in upper division courses

http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/colleges/research/0,,154-181-0-0,00.html

66

What are the Best Guidelines for Establishing AP Credit & Placement Policies?

3) Review External Recommendations• American Council on Education (ACE) recommends a 3, 4

and 5 should be awarded credit

4) Review AP Curricula and AP Exams• Review AP curricula and exam questions to

gauge level of content mastery required and its relation to your institution’s requirements

67

AP Credit Policies on collegeboard.com• Searchable by institution for

students, parents and school counselors

• For each institution that provided their AP credit policy information, you can find the following:

• A link to the institution’s own Web page that details its AP credit and placement policies

• A statement by the college or university about their AP policy

http://www.collegeboard.com/ap/creditpolicy

Documents

Workshop Outline