The purpose of this study is to identify aspects of successful Advanced Placement programs in small schools of enrollments of 600 or fewer, and to describe the strategies that are used in these schools to make their programs successful. The study includes a pilot research project with a small school with a floundering program identifying the major problems that it has faced in starting and creating its program along with cases of two additional small schools that have found success with their programs. The cases of the successful schools are analyzed to find the aspects of the programs that have led to their success to provide struggling schools with suggestions for improvements of their programs.

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of Virginia school divisions’ policy of paying the fee for students to take Advanced Placement exams on Advanced Placement course enrollment, the number of Advanced Placement exams taken by students, the average scores earned and the percent of students earning qualifying scores of 3, 4, or 5 on Advanced Placement exams. The hierarchical regression models utilized Advanced Placement scores and school demographic data provided by the Virginia Department of Education combined with survey data on Advanced Placement policies and the number years that exam fees had been paid collected from school principals, directors of counseling and division officials. School level demographics considered in the analyses included school size, socioeconomic status, ethnicity and school achievement. Advanced Placement enrollment and the number of exams taken increased significantly over the period of study while the average scores and number of qualifying scores earned by Virginia students remained unchanged. The payment of exam fees by Virginia school divisions had no impact on the change in Advanced Placement participation. Average scores and percent of qualifying scores earned on Advanced Placement science exams fell over the study period, though participation grew in line with the overall Advanced Placement participation. No significant differences in the change in Advanced Placement participation or scores were observed based on the underserved minority enrollment of schools, however both enrollment, average scores and qualifying scores on Advanced Placement exams fell significantly as the percent of students qualified that for free and reduced-lunch programs at a school increased.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri, School of Mines and Metallurgy, 1931. / The entire thesis text is included in file. Typescript. Illustrated by author. Title from title screen of thesis/dissertation PDF file (viewed January 19, 2010) Includes bibliographical references (p. 81-83) and index (leaves 98-102).

Advanced Placement is a series of courses and tests designed to determine mastery over introductory college material. It has become part of the American educational system. The changing conception of AP was examined using critical theory to determine what led to a view of continual success. The study utilized David Armstrong’s variation of Michel Foucault’s critical theory to construct an analytical framework. Black and Ubbes’ data gathering techniques and Braun and Clark’s data analysis were utilized as the analytical framework. Data included 1135 documents: 641 journal articles, 421 newspaper articles and 82 government documents. The study revealed three historical ruptures correlated to three themes containing subthemes. The first rupture was the Sputnik launch in 1958. Its correlated theme was AP leading to school reform with subthemes of AP as reform for able students and AP’s gaining of acceptance from secondary schools and higher education. The second rupture was the Nation at Risk report published in 1983. Its correlated theme was AP’s shift in emphasis from the exam to the course with the subthemes of AP as a course, a shift in AP’s target population, using AP courses to promote equity, and AP courses modifying curricula. The passage of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 was the third rupture. Its correlated theme was AP as a means to narrow the achievement gap with the subthemes of AP as a college preparatory program and the shifting of AP to an open access program. The themes revealed a perception that progressively integrated the program into American education. The AP program changed emphasis from tests to curriculum, and is seen as the nation’s premier academic program to promote reform and prepare students for college. It has become a major source of income for the College Board. In effect, AP has become an agent of privatization, spurring other private entities into competition for government funding. The change and growth of the program over the past 57 years resulted in a deep integration into American education. As such the program remains an intrinsic part of the system and continues to evolve within American education.

This quantitative study examined the impact that Advanced Placement (AP) coursework had on students attending college with specific emphasis on those who failed the exam. The study comprised four years of entering freshmen students between the academic years 2006-2009. The study was comprehensive in that it revealed all AP attempts regardless of score and student's desire to submit results to Temple University and the universities' acceptance of the same for college credit. For consistency, college success was determined based on data in the first two academic years of study. Students' grade point average (GPA) and retention were analyzed as the two primary assessments defining college access. The sample consisted of 16,731 students over four years of entering first-time freshmen to Temple University. The results indicated that AP score had a significant effect on both GPA and retention, although the effects for GPA were much stronger than for retention. Essentially, the results showed that the GPA of students decreases linearly from those who obtained an average AP score of "5", through "4", "3" and "2". Students whose average AP score was "1", however, performed at a lower level than students who had taken no AP course at all. Moreover, when various pre-college factors (specifically, SAT scores, high school GPA, mothers' and fathers' educational level and family income) were used as covariates, the effect for AP performance was markedly reduced. As such, it became evident that the real issue in evaluating the impact of AP performance is not whether students who take and pass AP courses do better in college. The real issue is whether AP performance provides an advantage over and above the advantages that students already possess. This study also revealed a threshold at which AP exposure correlated to college success when studying the AP failures with a score of `1'. The study findings contribute to emerging literature examining the relationship that AP failures have on students and colleges. / Educational Administration

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Liberty University, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 1997. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 100-103). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.A.)--California State University Channel Islands, 2006. / Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts in Education. Title from PDF t.p. (viewed August 29, 2008).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Virginia Commonwealth University, 2010. / Prepared for: Dept. of Educational Studies. Title from title-page of electronic thesis. Bibliography: leaves 114-122.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Louisville, 2003. / Department of Leadership, Foundations, and Human Resource Education. Vita. "December 2003." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 213-227).