Effects of Early AP Coursetaking on High School Outcomes and College Enrollment for Less Academically Prepared Students

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by dawugda

The expansion of Advanced Placement (AP) programs to include students from underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities and those from less advantaged socioeconomic backgrounds has made it crucial to assess how effective AP courses and exams are for these groups. As AP grows, more high school students, especially freshmen and sophomores, enroll in AP courses. This study examines benefits of early AP participation for students deemed academically underprepared by prior test scores, finding higher state exit exam scores, more early college credit course enrollment, and increased college attendance and completion, especially at four-year institutions.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages32

Reading Time1 h 21 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Purpose and research gap

Study approach

Key findings

Implications for evaluating readiness

| education policy analysis archives
A peer-reviewed, independent, open access, multilingual journal | | | --- | --- | | Arizona State University | | | Volume 33 Number 12 February 4, 2025 ISSN 1068-2341 | | Effects of Early AP Coursetaking on High School Outcomesand College Enrollment for Less Academically Prepared Students Han Bum Lee Sofia Bahena & Sharon L. Nichols University of Texas at San Antonio United States Citation: Lee, H. B., Bahena, S., & Nichols, S. L. (2025). Effects of early AP coursetaking on highschool outcomes and college enrollment for less academically prepared students. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 33(12). [https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.33.8651](https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.33.8651) Abstract: The expansion of Advanced Placement (AP) programs to include students from underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities and those from less advantaged socioeconomic backgrounds has made it crucial to assess how effective AP courses and exams are for these groups. As AP programs become more popular, more high school students–especially freshmen and sophomores–are signing up for AP courses. Despite this growing trend, there ’s still not enough research on how early AP participation affects these particular students. This study fills this research gap by exploring the benefits of early AP involvement for students considered academically underprepared based on prior test scores. We find that early AP course participation leads to higher scores on state exit exams, greater enrollment in early college credit courses, and increased college attendance and completion rates, particularly at four-year institutions. These findings challenge the reliance on prior test scores as the sole Journal website: [http://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/ ](http://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/ Manuscript)[ Manuscript](http://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/ Manuscript) received: 29/3/2024 Facebook: /EPAAA Revisions received: 11/11/2024 Twitter: @epaa_aape Accepted: 2/12/2024 Education Policy Analysis Archives Vol. 33 No. 12 2 predictor of AP success and future academic achievements, suggesting a need for a more comprehensive approach to evaluating students ’ readiness for the rigors of AP coursework. Keywords: Advanced Placement; academically underprepared students; early engagement in AP; historical academic performance; Texas Impacto de la participación temprana en cursos de AP en los resultados de secundaria y lainscripción universitaria de estudiantes menos académicamente preparados Resumen: La expansión de los programas de Advanced Placement (AP) para incluir a estudiantes de minorías raciales y étnicas subrepresentadas, así como a aquellos de entornos socioeconómicos menos favorecidos, ha hecho que sea crucial evaluar la efectividad de los cursos y exámenes de AP para estos grupos. A medida que los programas de AP se vuelven más populares, un número creciente de estudiantes de secundaria, especialmente de primer ysegundo año, se está inscribiendo en cursos de AP. A pesar de esta tendencia creciente, aúnhay una falta de investigación suficiente sobre cómo la participación temprana en AP af ecta aestos estudiantes en particular. Este estudio aborda esta brecha investigando los beneficios dela participación temprana en AP para estudiantes considerados académicamente no preparados según los puntajes de pruebas previas. Encontramos que la participación temprana en cursos de AP conduce a puntajes más altos en los exámenes estatales de egreso, una mayor inscripción en cursos de crédito universitario temprano y mayores tasas de asistencia y finalización universitaria, particularmente en instituciones de cuatro años. Estos hallazgos cuestionan la dependencia de los puntajes de pruebas previas como único predictor del éxito en AP y de los logros académicos futuros, sugiriendo la necesidad de un enfoque más integral para evaluar la preparación de los estudiantes para los rigores del trabajo académico en AP. Palabras-clave: Advanced Placem

FAQs

Why is early participation in AP programs important to study?

AP expansion has increased enrollment of underrepresented and less advantaged students, making it necessary to evaluate how effective AP courses and exams are for these groups, especially when students start earlier.

How does the study define “academically underprepared” students?

The study considers students academically underprepared based on prior test scores.

What outcomes improve with early AP course participation?

Early AP participation is associated with higher scores on state exit exams, greater enrollment in early college credit courses, and higher college attendance and completion rates, particularly at four-year institutions.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by dawugda