High school students enroll in Advanced Placement (AP) courses and take AP exams for a variety of reasons. However, a lack of information about the extent to which there are incremental benefits associated with taking multiple AP exams has fostered a perception that students must take many APs to be prepared for college. Conversely, many American students graduate from high school without even one AP, raising questions about whether such experiences should have been more strongly encouraged. Our article investigates the incremental gains in college student outcomes that are associated with taking and performing well on numerous AP exams. Using postsecondary transcript records, we examine the relationships between college outcomes (first-year grades and bachelor's degree attainment) and AP (number of AP exams taken and number of AP exams with passing scores of 3 or higher). After controlling for achievement, demographic characteristics, and other factors, we find that the biggest predicted boost in first-year grades and on-time bachelor's degree attainment are associated with AP participation changing from zero to one AP exam and from one to two AP exams. Taking and performing well on more than four to six AP exams does not markedly alter predicted first-year college grades and on-time bachelor's degree attainment rates.
Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between television viewing time, physical activity level, food consumption patterns, and academic performance of adolescents in a large urban school district in the USA where health disparities are prevalent, particularly among minority residents.
Design/methodology/approach
– The 2010 Youth Risk Behavior Survey was used to analyze the relationship between academic grades and physical activity patterns and food consumption in a large urban school district serving over 77,000 students.
Findings
– Results indicated that students who self-reported grades of As and Bs had higher levels of physical activity and less screen time compared to students who reported grades of Ds and Fs. Further, as grades decreased the consumption of soda and fast food increased.
Originality/value
– Higher grades track significantly with improved physical activity and lower intake of soda and fast food. These findings provide additional support for the role of regular physical activity and its positive effect on academic performance.
Beard, Jonathan James. "An Investigation of vertical scaling with item response theory using a multistage testing framework." PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) thesis,
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