Students who participated in the Advanced Placement program were more likely to score higher on college-entrance exams, earn college degrees, and make more money after college than non-AP students, but those differences varied significantly among various racial and ethnic groups, a new study says.
The study, to be published in the next issue of the journal Educational Foundations, looked at data from the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 and periodic followups, the last of which was in 2000.
African-American and Hispanic students who participated in the AP program, which is owned by the New York City-based College Board, scored more than 100 points higher on composite scores on the PSAT, SAT, and ACT than students who had not participated in the AP program, according to the study, conducted by Lamont A. Flowers, a professor of educational leadership at Clemson University in Clemson, S.C.
Among students identified as Asian or Pacific Islander, AP participants scored 263 points higher than nonparticipants; among white students, that gap was 174 points. Similar gaps also appeared among the racial and ethnic groups with regard to college grade point averages, postsecondary attainment, and postbaccalaureate wages.
