Honors classes in secondary schools are designed to provide advanced learning opportunities for both identified gifted students and high-potential students. They also serve as a bridge to AP/IB classes or other advanced coursework. Beyond preparing students for future courses, honors classes can play a role in talent development by supporting…

Gaps in advanced high school coursework by socioeconomic status and geography persist in the United States, even among students with the ability and access to succeed in them. Lack of information on course availability and inaccurate self-perceptions may contribute to these inequities. We report on a large-scale experiment designed to increase…

Background: Early Colleges (ECs) are a type of rapidly growing dual enrollment program proven to be successful in helping underrepresented students get a jumpstart on their postsecondary education. To date, the most rigorous evidence on the impact of ECs has come from two lottery-based natural experiments conducted by the SERVE Center (Edmunds et…

We analyze the rollout of a Statewide Dual-Credit (SDC) program intended to expand access to college-level courses during high school. We find that SDC increased early postsecondary course-taking among students in the middle of the achievement distribution, especially through courses in vocational subjects, without decreasing participation in…

The objective of our study was to understand learners' experiences in an LMOOC (Language Massive Open Online Course) and to highlight those elements that make an LMOOC successful. Our research focused on three questions: how do learners perceive their overall experience in the course, which specific LMOOC components learners appreciate, and to…

Since 1997, Advocates for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ) has published the Newark Kids Count Data Book, a one-stop source for child well-being data on the state's largest city. Newark Kids Count includes the latest statistics, along with five-year trend data, in the following areas: demographics, family economic security, child health, child…

Introduction of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) experiences to students exposes them to a variety of future career options while teaching them critical thinking and problem-solving skills. In many calculus classes, students feel that the material they are learning is abstract and not related to the real world. As a result,…

To evaluate how Advanced Placement (AP) courses affect college-going, we randomly assigned the offer of enrollment into an AP science course to over 1,800 students in twenty-three schools that had not previously offered the course. We find no AP course effects on students' college entrance exam scores (SAT/ACT). As expected, AP course-takers are…

Participation in accelerated learning programs (defined in this study as Advanced Placement, Dual Enrollment, and International Baccalaureate) continues to expand across the US. As such, it is important to better our understanding of the relationship among these three programs concerning measures of student postsecondary achievement. Prior…

Dual enrollment (DuE) is an opportunity for high school students to take college-level courses. Participation in dual enrollment allows students to earn high school and college credit simultaneously; thus, decreasing students' time to complete a college degree and saving them tuition costs. Other questions answered in the guide include: (1) How…

Participating in advanced placement (AP) can improve high school students' cognitive and noncognitive outcomes. Despite nationwide efforts, including Arkansas's mandate for statewide AP access since 2003 and exam cost coverage since 2005, disparities in enrollment persist. Using multilevel modeling, we investigate the relation between…

Multilingual learners, also known as English learners (ELs), are underrepresented in K-12 computer science (CS) courses, where they often struggle. This paper demonstrates how a Computer Science for English Learners (CSforEL) professional development (PD) program supported Advanced Placement CS Principles (APCSP) teachers in attending to both…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate disproportionality with respect to Advanced Placement (AP) opportunities for students of color, post qualification, for special education services via the label Specific Learning Disability (SLD). Multiple data sources including existing data, surveys, and semi structured interviews were…

Decades of student achievement data reveal that schools in the United States do not adequately equip students with the skills needed for success in college. The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which the AP Capstone program, an Advanced Placement (AP) diploma program launched by the College Board in 2014, promoted specific…

This Research Brief summarizes the performance of Miami-Dade County Public Schools (MDCPS) students participating in the International Baccalaureate (IB) program. The IB program was offered at six M-DCPS high schools in 2022-2023. Over 3,200 assessments were completed by M-DCPS students in 30 subject areas in 2022-2023. The number of IB…