Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Does Ap Economics Improve Student Achievement?, Benjamin Scafidi, John Swinton, Chris Clark

Faculty and Research Publications

We employ a cautious empirical approach to estimate the effect of taking Advanced Placement (AP) Economics in high school on student performance on a high-stakes, statewide End-of-Course Test (EOCT). Using data on all Georgia students who took economics from 2006 to 2008, we use propensity score matching to control for the selection of students into AP Economics. Our most conservative estimate makes an adjustment for teacher effects and suggests that students who take high school economics in an AP class score 0.283 standard deviations higher on the economics EOCT than “matched” students who are in high schools that do not …