The Effect of Advanced Placement Science on Students’ Skills, Confidence, and Stress

Abstract

The AP program has been widely adopted by secondary schools, yet the evidence on the impacts of taking AP courses has been entirely observational. We report results from the first experimental study of AP, focusing on whether AP endows students with greater human capital than other regular and honors courses. We find suggestive evidence that taking an AP science course increases students’ science skill and their interest in pursuing a STEM major in college. AP course-takers also have lower confidence in their ability to succeed in college science, higher levels of stress, and worse grades than their control counterparts.