AP Capstone™ Participation, High School Learning, and College Outcomes: Early Evidence
Author: Jagesic, Sanja
Date: 2020-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: Advanced Placement Programs,Capstone Experiences,High School Students,Student Participation,Outcomes of Education,College Preparation,Scores,Achievement Tests,Grades (Scholastic),College Students,Academic Persistence,College Freshmen,Student Research,Honors Curriculum,Internship Programs

The AP Capstone Diploma ™ program was launched in 2014 to offer high school students an opportunity to learn interdisciplinary critical thinking and collaboration skills and complete college-level academic research by means of two Advanced Placement® (AP® ) courses: AP Seminar and AP Research. In these early years of the AP Capstone program, students and teachers have reached out to report that skills learned in AP Capstone courses help students succeed in other AP courses as well as help prepare them for college. This feedback from students and teachers was a catalyst for this study, which is an opportunity to understand specific relationships between AP Capstone participation and student secondary and postsecondary educational outcomes. To see if this observation from high school AP Seminar and AP Research students and teachers is supported by student AP Exam performance, the authors asked the following research questions: (1) Do students who complete AP Seminar or both AP Seminar and AP Research Exams earn higher AP Exam scores on AP Exams completed in the same year as AP Seminar or AP Research, compared to AP students who do not take AP Seminar or both AP Capstone courses?; (2) Do students who complete AP Seminar or both AP Seminar and AP Research Exams earn higher AP Exam scores on AP Exams completed in the year after AP Seminar or AP Research, compared to AP students who do not take AP Seminar or both AP Capstone courses?; (3) Do students who take AP Seminar or complete the requirements for the AP Capstone Diploma earn higher first-year grades, have higher retention to the second year, and a higher probability of participating in internships, academic research, and honors programs than students who do not take any AP Exams?; and (4) Do students who take AP Seminar or complete the requirements for the AP Capstone Diploma Earn higher first-year grades, have higher retention to the second year, and a higher probability of participating in internships, academic research, and honors programs than students who have a comparable level of content-specific AP exposure but have never taken AP Seminar or AP Research? The findings summarized in this report indicate that after taking into account student background and prior achievement, students who take AP Seminar, or both AP Capstone courses, have higher scores on concurrent and future AP Exams in the English, history, politics, and--in some cases, social sciences and sciences--subject areas. The authors also find that students taking an AP Seminar Exam or students earning an AP Capstone Diploma have significantly higher first-year college grades, first-to-second year college retention, and probability of participating in academic research, internships, and honors programs in the first year of college than similar students who did not take any AP Exams in high school. These early findings may help implementing schools determine how best to position AP Seminar and AP Research in course schedules to maximize student outcomes.