The Advanced Placement® Program (AP®) offers high school students the opportunity to take rigorous coursework in high school and receive college credit for AP Exam scores that meet or exceed the requirements of their attending institution. Students receiving AP credit are typically exempted from an introductory-level course or series of courses…

We examined the variation in Force and Motion Conceptual Evaluation (FMCE) preclass scores according to the type of physics class a student had in high school. This was done for students who had taken Physics 1 at a highly selective university. The majority of students had taken an Advanced Placement (AP) physics course, allowing us to examine in…

This study examined outcomes for AP® Calculus and AP Physics students on the 2015 Trends in International Math and Science Study (TIMSS) relative to other participating countries and other advanced math and science students in the United States. Compared to other countries in the study, AP Calculus BC and AP Physics C: EM students outperformed all…

This study examined laboratory experiments and traditional lecturing as an introductory teaching method in physics. In this participatory action research study, a qualitative and quantitative method were used to examine the level of achievement and the levels of engagement of high school students in introductory physics. The qualitative data was…

The purpose of this study was to address Advanced Placement (AP)® policy-related questions from administrators at the University System of Georgia (USG) using current AP Exam records and student course performance at four institutions. Specifically, comparisons of sequent or subsequent course grades were made between AP and non-AP students. This…

A new test of Advanced Placement Physics, explicitly designed to balance both content and cognitive-processing skills, was developed using Sternberg's theory of successful intelligence. The test was administered to 281 AP Physics students from 10 schools during the 2006-2007 school year. Six empirically distinguishable profiles of strengths and…

Explores reasons why students take introductory physics courses at the university regardless of their Advanced Placement (AP) exam performance. Briefly describes the nature of AP physics, the examination format and reporting of scores, and the results of a survey of physics departments regarding their policies towards AP exam scores and placement…

A method is proposed to assess the importance of differential item functioning (DIF) by estimating the largest possible fraction of the population in which DIF does not occur, or equivalently, the smallest possible portion of the population in which DIF may occur. The approach is based on latent class (C. C. Clogg, 1981) or mixture concepts, and…

The University of Texas (UT) at Austin's credit by examination program is described. In 1985-86, credit by examination was offered in 55 subjects. Details were provided for each of 18 subject areas in which over 20 tests were administered: Biology; Chemistry; Chinese; Computer Science; Economics; Electrical Engineering; English; French; German;…