PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Christopher Avery
AU  - Oded Gurantz
AU  - Michael Hurwitz
AU  - Jonathan Smith
TI  - Shifting College Majors in Response to Advanced Placement Exam Scores
AID  - 10.3368/jhr.53.4.1016-8293R
DP  - 2018 Oct 02
TA  - Journal of Human Resources
PG  - 918--956
VI  - 53
IP  - 4
4099  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/53/4/918.short
4100  - http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/53/4/918.full
SO  - J Hum Resour2018 Oct 02; 53
AB  - Do signals of high aptitude shape the course of collegiate study? We apply a regression discontinuity design to understand how college major choice is impacted by receiving a higher Advanced Placement (AP) integer score, despite similar exam performance, compared to students who received a lower integer score. Attaining higher scores increases the probability that a student majors in that exam subject by approximately 5 percent (0.64 percentage points), with some individual exams demonstrating increases as high as 30 percent. A substantial portion of the overall effect is driven by behavioral responses to the positive signal of receiving a higher score.