Author: Patricia Lund Casserly

Published: 1986

This report describes the first large-scale study to assess Advanced Placement Program (AP) outcomes since 1963. Part 1 of the study examined the validity of AP Examination grades as indicators of students' readiness to undertake certain advanced sequent courses as freshmen. Part 2 examined the larger role of the AP Program in their lives. The study found that overall AP candidates who were placed ahead in the field of their qualifying AP Examinations did better than a generality of upperclassmen in those courses. AP candidates reacted very positively to the AP experience in high school and to the outcomes of their participation in college. Students offered recommendations to institutions that wish to foster a smooth transition into challenging college careers for future AP candidates.