Giving college credit where it is due: Advanced Placement exam scores and college outcomes

J Smith, M Hurwitz, C Avery - Journal of Labor Economics, 2017 - journals.uchicago.edu
J Smith, M Hurwitz, C Avery
Journal of Labor Economics, 2017journals.uchicago.edu
We implement a regression discontinuity design using the continuous raw Advanced
Placement (AP) exam scores, which are mapped into the observed 1–5 integer scores, for
over 4.5 million students. Earning higher AP integer scores positively affects college
completion and subsequent exam-taking. Specifically, attaining credit-granting integer
scores increases the probability that a student will receive a bachelor's degree within 4
years by 1–2 percentage points per exam. We also find that receiving a score of 3 over a 2 …
We implement a regression discontinuity design using the continuous raw Advanced Placement (AP) exam scores, which are mapped into the observed 1–5 integer scores, for over 4.5 million students. Earning higher AP integer scores positively affects college completion and subsequent exam-taking. Specifically, attaining credit-granting integer scores increases the probability that a student will receive a bachelor’s degree within 4 years by 1–2 percentage points per exam. We also find that receiving a score of 3 over a 2 on junior year AP exams causes students to take between 0.06 and 0.14 more AP exams senior year.
The University of Chicago Press