Graduation Year
2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree
Ph.D.
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
Degree Granting Department
Higher Ed/Community College Ed
Major Professor
Thomas Miller, Ed.D.
Committee Member
Amber D. Dumford, Ph.D.
Committee Member
S. Morgan Gresham, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Jennifer Smith Schneider, Ph.D.
Keywords
accelerated mechanisms, college success, education policy, equity
Abstract
The proliferation of Advanced Placement (AP) and Dual Enrollment taken by high school students expanded over the past few decades due concerted efforts to make the accelerated mechanisms more available to historically underrepresented groups and to reduce the cost of higher education. Supported by years of research correlating improved first-year college performance to enrollment in such programs, AP and Dual Enrollment also allow students to earn college credit prior to enrolling at post-secondary institutions, further enhanced their appeal. Despite this enhanced popularity, little research has been done on whether there are any indications of different academic outcomes by the accelerated type taken. This study found that students who earned at least a “3” in AP English exam had overall higher first-year college grade point averages (GPA) than those who earned at least an equivalent “C” in Dual Enrollment English Composition courses. Not only were the difference in GPA statistically significant, they were persistent across most racial/ethnic groups and socioeconomic statuses, and there was misalignment between the two accelerated mechanisms’ end-of-course measures of achievement (exam results for AP or course grades for Dual Enrollment).
Scholar Commons Citation
Desir, Serge W. Jr., "High School Acceleration and First-Year College Student Success: Do Advanced Placement or Dual Enrollment Influence College Persistence Differently" (2024). USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/10497
