John Novak

Publication Date

2017

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

First Advisor

Shin, Eui-kyung

Degree Name

Ed.D. (Doctor of Education)

Legacy Department

Department of Curriculum and Instruction

LCSH

Curriculum planning; Secondary education; Higher education

Abstract

The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the relationship between completion of Advanced Placement courses and college readiness, defined by enrolling in a postsecondary remedial course. Further, the study investigated whether or not the student characteristics of gender, race, socioeconomic status, motivation, and high school grade point average had any moderating effect on any relationship discovered. Finally, the type of postsecondary institution attended, four-year or two-year or less, was examined to determine if the findings differed for these two groups of students. The conceptual framework for this study is based upon Conley's College Readiness Theory, which outlines cognitive and noncognitive skills necessary for a student to enroll and succeed, without remediation, in a credit-bearing general course at a postsecondary institution. In order to attain these skills and avoid postsecondary remediation, a rigorous course of study is imperative for high school students. One pathway to this rigorous course of study is through the Advanced Placement Program. Data from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 were obtained from the National Center of Educational Statistics for use in the study. ELS:2002 followed a national sample of the Class of 2004 throughout their secondary and postsecondary years to gather information as students transitioned to adulthood. These data were used to construct of a series of random-intercept two-level hierarchical generalized linear models to answer each of the research questions. These models indicated a positive relationship between completing one or more AP Carnegie units and college readiness. Completing more AP Carnegie units was related to college readiness, as those students completing more AP courses were less likely to enroll in a postsecondary remedial course. Race, socioeconomic status, and high school GPA all had moderating effects on the strength of the AP completion college readiness relationship. There was no difference in this relationship for students who attend a four-year university and those that attend a two-year or less institution.

Comments

Advisors: Eui-kyung Shin.||Committee members: Bradley Hawk; Thomas J. Smith.||Includes bibliographical references.||Includes illustrations.

Extent

xii, 166 pages

Language

eng

Publisher

Northern Illinois University

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Rights Statement 2

NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.

Media Type

Text

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