The Effects of State-level Mandatory Advanced Placement Curriculum Policies on AP Participation and Performance
Name
zheng-mzheng01-meng-eecs-2024-thesis.pdf
Description
Thesis PDF
Size
2.68 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
00788fa65d37272f1359ad6321aefbb8
Author(s)
Zheng, Tianyuan
Advisor(s)
Angrist, Joshua D.
Date Issued
May 2024
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
AP (Advanced Placement) courses allow high school students to earn college credits. While the AP program aims to broaden educational opportunities for a diverse student body across the U.S., disparities in the availability and participation rates of AP courses may exacerbate inequality. To address this, some states require all high schools to offer at least one AP course. This study analyzes the impacts of AP mandates using difference-in-differences models. My findings indicate that school-level AP mandates are associated with a 36% increase in the number of public schools offering AP. I find little evidence, however, that these mandates significantly increase student AP participation. Furthermore, they decrease AP credit attainment rate by 11% conditioned on students taking AP exams.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
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