1. From a Recent AP Program Survey AP course experience favorably impacts admissions decisions at 85 percent of selective colleges and universities. “ 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
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Hinweis der Redaktion
If the percentage of applicants admitted was ≤ 100%, schools were placed in the non-selective segment.
Then, if the percentage of applicants admitted was ≤ 85%, schools were placed in the moderately-selective segment. Also, schools accepting 85-100% of the applicants with a mean SAT score ≥ 1130 or a mean ACT score ≥ 24 were placed into the moderately-selective segment from the non-selective segment. (Note that 1130 and 24 were 1 SD above the mean SAT and ACT scores, respectively, for the moderately-selective group when the rule was only “≤ 85% acceptance.”)
Then, if the percentage of applicants admitted was ≤ 70% with a mean SAT score ≥ 1025 or a mean ACT score ≥ 22, schools were placed in the selective segment.
Then, if the percentage of applicants admitted was ≤ 40% with a mean SAT score ≥ 1250 or a mean ACT score ≥ 29, schools were placed in the highly selective segment.
The state of Texas has the second-largest population of AP students in the nation, and because its population contains a significant proportion of traditionally underserved minority students, Texas is an excellent site for continued research on the relationship between AP and college success. Brand-new studies conducted by University of Texas researchers confirm the use of AP Exam results to identify students for college admission and to provide students with college credit and advanced standing.
The study followed four cohorts of entering freshmen (1998–2001) at The University of Texas at Austin and accounted for differences in the ability levels of the AP and non-AP students by matching high school rank and college admission test scores.
To access the report, visit www.collegeboard.com/research.
Another new study by Texas researchers Linda Hargrove, Donn Godin, and Barbara Dodd followed five cohorts of students (1998–2002) who enrolled at any Texas public higher education institution after graduating from a Texas public high school. The study provides an extensive comparison of students' performances on several college outcomes—including first- and fourth-year grade point averages and four-year graduation status—in relation to the various types of AP and non-AP experiences they had in high school, aggregated across all AP subject areas. Results showed that students who had taken one or more AP courses and exams and students who had taken one or more AP courses but no exam significantly outperformed non-AP participants on all college outcomes in all years, after statistically controlling for SAT score and economic status.
Among the groups of students studied were:
College students who had taken one or more AP courses and exams in high school (i.e., the “AP course and exam” group);
College students who had taken one or more AP courses in high school but not the associated AP Exam (i.e., the “AP course only” group); and
College students who had not taken any AP courses or exams in high school (i.e., the “standard high school courses” group).
SAT score and Free or Reduced-Price Lunch (FRPL) status were included as control variables in an effort to account for possible ability and income differences between the groups. Results showed that students who took one or more AP courses and exams (i.e., the “AP course and exam” group) and students who took one or more AP courses but no exam (i.e., the “AP course only” group) significantly outperformed the “standard high school courses” group on all college outcomes in all years, after statistically controlling for SAT score and FRPL status. The “AP course and exam” group also significantly outperformed the “AP course only” group on all college outcomes in all years.
To access the report, visit www.collegeboard.com/research.
Chrys Dougherty, Lynn Mellor, and Shuling Jian, National Center for Educational Accountability (2006). The Relationship Between Advanced Placement and College Graduation.
For more information, visit www.collegeboard.com/research.
Students who complete AP courses are:
better prepared academically
more likely to choose challenging majors
likely to complete more college level work
likely to perform significantly better than students who did not take AP courses
more likely to exercise leadership
more likely to graduate with a double major
twice as likely to go into advanced study
–Willingham & Morris, 1986; UT Study 1988