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…

This study examined the cost effectiveness of three early college programs in Rhode Island: dual enrollment, concurrent enrollment, and Advanced Placement (AP). Each program had a positive effect on participants' enrolling in college within one year of high school graduation, persisting to a second year of college, and starting at a four year…

These are the appendixes for the report, "The Cost-Effectiveness of Providing Early College Programs in Rhode Island." Many states now offer high school students the opportunity to earn credit toward a high school diploma and a postsecondary degree simultaneously, with the aim of improving their college readiness and on-time college…

The problem addressed in this study was that low-income, high-achieving students have lower success rates in higher education institutions socially and academically compared to students of higher-income status regardless of academic ability. The purpose of this qualitative, case study was to investigate how low-income students who excelled in high…

High school students' academic preparation (e.g. high school GPA, ACT composite score, AP credits earned) predicts and helps explain their academic performance at college. However, the effects of noncognitive factors on college success is less clear. This study examined the effects of adding high school students' (N = 2279) self-efficacy,…

The purpose of this study is to investigate how high school academic and non-academic factors are related to college readiness and performance in freshman-level mathematics and science courses and retention in STEM fields. High school academic indicators for college readiness will include performance in high school science and mathematics courses,…

Idaho's dual credit programs, with a unique state funding model under Advanced Opportunities, have seen substantial growth in student usage in recent years. WICHE analyzed six key topics related to the state's dual credit model: (1) Fiscal impact of using Advanced Opportunities funds for dual credit students specifically; (2) Number of credits…

The Career-related Programme (CP) is an innovative education programme by the International Baccalaureate (IB). Designed to promote college and career readiness equally in the last two years of high school, the CP combines rigorous university preparatory coursework with targeted career-related studies. This study examines the patterns of higher…

The AP Capstone Diploma ™ program was launched in 2014 to offer high school students an opportunity to learn interdisciplinary critical thinking and collaboration skills and complete college-level academic research by means of two Advanced Placement® (AP® ) courses: AP Seminar and AP Research. In these early years of the AP Capstone program,…

Although several studies have reported Advanced Placement (AP) growth, little attention has been paid to school- and classroom-level strategies that encourage students to enroll into AP courses and complete AP exams. This study focused on determining goals emphasized, and strategies used, by science and math teachers (N = 143). Results indicated…

Hispanic students are the most likely out of all racial or ethnic groups to be first-generation college students (FGCS). Hispanic FGCS have been shown to be the least likely to persist out of all racial or ethnic backgrounds. However, there is little literature on this population. To address this, the present study investigated the association of…

Advanced coursework is one strategy education leaders and policymakers have used to improve academic performance and college readiness (Iatarola et al., 2011). Programs such as Advanced Placement (AP) and dual enrollment provide students opportunities to earn college credit while in high school. Proponents of advanced coursework argue that…

Research indicates that high-potential students from low-income backgrounds have decreased educational attainment and success in college compared with their higher income peers. The purpose of this review is to synthesize the interventions that support postsecondary success for this group. Using a systematic review protocol, we identified five…

For over a year, COVID-19 has disrupted all our lives, including our education system and the future for many Coloradans. Recovery from the pandemic is in sight, but Colorado's industries more than ever will depend upon postsecondary education to help produce the workforce needed in a changed environment and altered economy. It is vital to promote…

This article studies the differences in student learning outcomes associated with changes in the format of online learning resources. We compare completion rates and degrees of student achievement across several economic education learning modules produced by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Initially designed as a long-form online learning…