In recent years, more and more districts have encouraged students to take Advanced Placement (AP) courses because they’re more challenging and can earn them college credit. And according to the College Board, this encouragement has translated to more course taking: “Over the past decade, the number of students who graduate from high school having taken rigorous AP courses has nearly doubled, and the number of low-income students taking AP has more than quadrupled.”
Enter a new study that examines what role grade-weighting AP courses might have played in this uptick in participation (for example, a district might assign 5.0 grade points for an A in an AP course but 4.0 grade points in a regular class).
The authors conducted a survey of over nine hundred traditional public high schools in Texas, inquiring whether they had weighting systems for AP courses; if so, when they began; and what changes have occurred in their systems since then. Twenty-eight schools that had increased their weights made up the “treatment group,” including rural, urban, and suburban schools scattered around the Lone Star State. The control group was drawn from traditional public schools with school-level data available before any weight changes occurred. It was then winnowed down (based on geographic proximity to the treatment schools) and matched on such variables as number of AP courses offered, number of twelfth graders enrolled, percentage of FRPL students, percentage of students who are limited English proficient, and more.
Once schools were matched, analysts further verified that they were comparable at the student level—controlling for variables like prior reading and math test scores—for the year preceding the weight change. They ultimately followed eight cohorts of tenth graders through grade twelve at schools that changed their weights and at matched comparison schools.
We learn that raising the magnitude of the AP weight in schools already using weights had a small impact that was mostly limited to non-poor white students. However, when schools introduced weights for the first time, the impact was significant and widespread. The probability of taking an AP course increased by 3–12 percent, and the number of AP courses taken increased by 0.10–0.95 standard deviations, with the largest impacts found among those ineligible for FRPL. For those who are eligible for FRPL, there were still impacts: AP course taking increased by .10 –.13 courses.
The authors’ bottom line: “Our results indicate that grade weights can generate a one-time increase in AP participation rates, but a ratcheting up of weights after the initial introduction essentially serves as a reward for students who would have taken the courses anyway.”
They go on to recommend that schools bolster outreach to low-income families to make sure that they understand the potential benefits of taking AP courses. We know that low-income graduates comprise greater percentages of AP test takers than in the past, especially over the last decade. But access is not the same as preparation. The College Board appears to understand this; at least, it professes commitment “to helping students gain access to AP courses for which they are academically qualified.” We agree. Access is important, but so is making sure that students are prepared to take advanced courses.
SOURCE: Kristin Klopfenstein and Kit Lively, "Do Grade Weights Promote More Advanced Course-Taking?," Association for Education Finance and Policy (Summer 2016).
