Scholars Warn of Overstating Gains From AP Classes Alone

At a time when high schools are on the front burner of America’s school improvement efforts, few people would argue with President Bush’s call for bolstering Advanced Placement programs.

But a spate of new and not-yet-published studies on the program suggest that it may take more than increasing the numbers of students in AP classes and adding more teachers to produce measurable learning gains for young people.

“I don’t think AP courses are a panacea for improving science in U.S. schools,” said Philip M. Sadler, a Harvard University researcher, referring to the concern over the nation’s performance in that subject that has helped fuel the current emphasis on AP.“They may be part of the solution,” said Mr. Sadler, who was set to release one of the new studies this week, “but they don’t deliver on some of the rhetoric that has been presented in the...