An Analysis of the Effect of Advanced Placement Credit on Student Success in College Open Access
Howard, Greer (Spring 2018)
Abstract
Using Emory University registrar data this paper examines the impact of using Advanced Placement (AP) credit to gain exemption from introductory college courses on student performance in upper-level college courses. Additionally, attention is paid to the difference in performance between students with a score of 4 and 5 on the AP post-course examination. This study finds that the presence of AP credit does not have a significant impact on student performance. However, students with a score of 4 on the AP post-course examination perform worse than those with no AP credit, and students with a score of a 5 on the AP post-course examination perform better than those with no AP credit. The latter reflects selectivity. Furthermore, regardless of AP credit, students that are required to take at least one introductory course in a field perform better in the related upper-level courses than those who take no introductory courses.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
I.Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 1
II.AP Credit as a Substitute for College Courses ......................................................................... 4
III.Data and Econometric Model .............................................................................................. 7
Dataset ........................................................................................................................................ 7
Econometric Model ..................................................................................................................... 7
Limitations ................................................................................................................................... 8
IV.Empirical Results ................................................................................................................ 10
Summary Statistics .................................................................................................................... 10
Comparative Statistics ............................................................................................................... 12
Regression Results ..................................................................................................................... 15
V.Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 25
References .................................................................................................................................... 27
Figure 1. Histogram of the numerical grade in intermediate microeconomics for students who took the course at Emory University and graduated between 2007 and 2017. .......................... 11
Figure 2. Histogram of the numerical grade in intermediate macroeconomics for students who took the course at Emory University and graduated between 2007 and 2017 ........................... 11
Table 1. List of Variables and Their Descriptions. ........................................................................... 8
Table 2. Summary Statistics of Each Variable in Dataset.............................................................. 10
Table 3. Simple Comparative Statistics for Student Categories of Interest. ................................ 12
Table 4. Mean Difference T-Test for Student Categories of Interest. .......................................... 13
Table 5. Matched Mean Difference T-Test for Students with One AP Credit. ............................. 14
Table 6. List of Populations and Their Descriptions. ..................................................................... 16
Table 7. Benchmark Comparison Regressions for Intermediate Microeconomic Grade. ............ 17
Table 8. Benchmark Comparison Regressions for Intermediate Macroeconomic Grade. ........... 18
Table 9. Benchmark Comparison Regressions for Sum of Intermediate Microeconomics Grade and Intermediate Macroeconomics Grade. .................................................................................. 19
Table 10. Matched Regressions for Difference between Intermediate Economics Grades. ....... 23
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