7 VOLUME 82 College and University Journal ISSUE #4 (2007)

A
ccounting for Advanced High School
Coursework in College Admission Decisions
Evidence from college science courses supports the incorporation of letter-grade bonuses into the calculation of high school
GPA: one-half for honors courses, one for AP courses, and two for students who earn a three or higher on an AP exam.
ach January, thc ood ragcs ancw: A torrcnt ol applications,
transcripts, tcst scorcs, and rccommcndations ows in to bc
rcad, considcrcd, comparcd, groupcd, prcscntcd, and ratcd.
ach itcm plays a vital rolc in admission to collcgcs and uni
vcrsitics. Although wcighting dicrs by institution, all scck to
gaugc whcthcr a studcnt can navigatc thc shoals ol acadcmia
and cmcrgca graduatcon thc lar shorc. Gcncrally, gradcs
carncd in high school arc vicwcd as thc bcst prcdictors ol
collcgc pcrlormancc (Noblc and Sawycr acc). Tc aggrcgatc
high school gradc point avcragc (nscv~) sums up prccollcgc
prcparation and pcrlormancc.
Tc majority ol collcgcs and univcrsitics rccomputc nscv~,
climinating courscs vicwcd as supcruous and acccntuating
thosc dccmcd to bc advanccd (Hawkins and Clincdinst acc6).
Tc rcmaining collcgcs rcly upon thc nscv~ lorwardcd by an
applicants high school, acccpting that thc majority add
bonus points lor advanccd courscwork (Cognard .6,
illon .6, Joncs .,, National Rcscarch Council acca).
Yct rcscarch conccrning thc validity ol thc varicty ol systcms
advocatcd lor calculating nscv~ is quitc mcagcr (Sadlcr and
Tai acc,). Ncarly all ol thc variation in calculation ol nscv~
rclatcs to thc trcatmcnt ol advanccd courscwork. Taking
honors, !ntcrnational 8accalaurcatc (in)', or Advanccd
Placcmcnt (~v) courscs dcmonstratcs a studcnts ability to
do advanccd work whilc still in high school, implying grcatcr
rcadincss lor collcgc. Typically, such courscs arc takcn by thc
most apt high school studcnts. !t is bclicvcd to bc morc dil
cult to carn a high gradc in thc midst ol such (prcsumcd)
compctition, as a rcsult, nscv~ is adjustcd.
ltcn, honors courscs arc products ol a high schools
lcngthy tradition (or ol a particular tcachcr) and arc charac
tcrizcd by curricular lrccdom to choosc tcxts, topics, and
The International Baccalaureate (IB) program is offered in only 564 North
American schools, too small a fraction for our study to examine.
tcaching mcthods (Hcrr .). Honors courscs usually allow
lor cxtcnsivc timc to bc spcnt in thc laboratory and arc vicwcd
by thcir tcachcrs as hclping to sharpcn studcnts analytical
thinking skills. Tcy oltcn rcquirc projcct work and studcnt
rcports. !n somc schools, an honors coursc is a prcrcquisitc
lor cnrollmcnt in an Advanccd Placcmcnt coursc, in othcrs it
is thc highcstlcvcl coursc ocrcd (Hcrr ..a, Hcrr ..b).
Tc ~v program has cxpandcd ovcr thc last c ycars to
involvc ..a million studcnts taking a.. million ~v cxams in
morc than a subjccts (Camara, orans, Morgan and Mylord
accc, Collcgc ntrancc xamination 8oard |Collcgc 8oard|
acca, Hcrshcy .c, Rothschild .). !ncrcasingly, studcnts
apply to collcgc with ~v courscs on thcir high school tran
scripts. !n acc6, 6..6 pcrccnt ol collcgc lrcshmcn rcportcd
that thcy had takcn at lcast onc ~v coursc, and .. pcrccnt
took vc or morc ~v courscs (Hurtado and Pryor acc,). !n
addition, thc pcrccntagc ol studcnts taking ~v cxaminations
prior to thcir scnior ycar in high school has surgcd by . pcr
ccnt in thc last vc ycars, to ,., pcrccnt in acc6 (Collcgc
8oard acc6). Tc avcragc pass ratc (thrcc or grcatcr on a vc
point scalc) on ~v cxams in thc scicnccs cxcccds 6c pcrccnt.
Vc cstimatc that ,,ccc collcgc applicants in acc, will sub
mit a passing ~v cxam scorc in scicncc.
Vhilc collcgc admissions occrs considcr ~v cnrollmcnt
a plus, thc Collcgc 8oard rccognizcs only studcnts who
carn an cxam scorc ol thrcc or highcr as having mastcrcd
thc coursc contcnt. ~v passcrs rcprcscnt lcwcr than hall ol
studcnts cnrollcd in ~v courscs, thc rcmaindcr cithcr do not
pass (i.e., thcy scorc a two or lcss) or thcy opt out ol taking
thc cxam. An cstimatcd c to c pcrccnt ol studcnts cnrollcd
in ~v courscs choosc not to takc thc ~v cxam (National
Rcscarch Council acca, p..). Tc lcttcr gradc awardcd by
an ~v tcachcr (listcd accordingly on a studcnts high school
transcript) docs not appcar to bc a proxy lor an ~v cxam
by Philip M. Sadlcr and Robcrt H. Tai
8 VOLUME 82 College and University Journal ISSUE #4 (2007)
scorc. Many studcnts carning high coursc gradcs do not pcr
lorm wcll on thc ~v cxam (Hcrshcy .c), somc suggcst this
is cvidcncc ol a dccrcasc in quality as thc program has grown
(Lichtcn accc). thcrs arguc that thc quality ol ~v courscs
varics considcrably (Honowar acc).` Vc scc an opportunity
to rcconcilc high school coursc rigor, gradc carncd, and ~v
cxam scorcs, particularly as it is anticipatcd that |~v and
!ntcrnational 8accalaurcatc| cxamination scorcs may play
a grcatcr rolc in thc admission proccss in thc luturc. (xvc
acca, p.,)
Prior Research
Tc calculation and rolc ol nscv~ arc ol considcrablc intcrcst
to collcgc admission occrs. Many argumcnts havc bccn
madc in support ol honors and ~v courscs: lor cxamplc, stu
dcnts morc authcntically cxpcricncc thc kind ol lcarning
charactcristically rcquircd in collcgc (\cnczia and Kirst acc).
Accounting lor thc rigor ol a high schools acadcmic pro
gram hclps cxplain thc variancc in thc cv~ ol collcgc lrcsh
mcn, supporting thc usc ol coursc rigor in making admissions
dccisions (8assiri and Schultz acc, Lang .,). Accounting
lor high school pcrlormancc also can balancc out thc gcndcr
bias cvidcnccd in standardizcd tcsts (8ridgcman and Lcwis
.6, 8ridgcman and Vcndlcr .., Gallagcr and Kaulman
acc, Vaincr and Stcinbcrg .a). Collcgc admissions o
ccrs rank ~v coursc cnrollmcnt abovc s~: ii scorcs in impor
tancc (8rccland, et al. acca), collcgc admissions occrs prclcr
wcightcd nscv~, cvcn whcn thcir admissions policics do not
statc a prclcrcncc (Scylcrt .., Tallcy and Mohr .).
Applicants lrom high schools that do not wcight advanccd
courscs can bc at a signicant comparativc disadvantagc il
thc collcgcs to which thcy apply do not rccalculatc nscv~
(Lockhart .c, Rutlcdgc ..) or cmphasizc high school
rankinclass in thcir admissions dccisions (owns accc).
Rcscarchcrs havc lound that wcightcd nscv~ prcdicts
rstycar collcgc cv~ bcttcr than nonwcightcd nscv~
(8ridgcman, McCamlcyJcnkins and rvin accc, illon
.6). Scvcral studics havc lound that studcnts who havc
takcn ~v courscwork havc highcr collcgc cv~s (8urton and
Ramist acc., Chambcrlain, Pugh, and Shcllhammcr .,,
Morgan and Ramist .), but this rcsult is highly dcpcndcnt
upon thc rcscarch mcthodology cmploycdand particularly
on thc inclusion ol control variablcs such as standardizcd tcst
scorcs, cthnicity, and community aucncc (Gciscr and
Santcliccs acc, Kloplcnstcin and Tomas acc, Ruch .6).
AP cxam scorc has bccn lound to bc a bcttcr prcdictor ol col
lcgc gradcs than mcrc cnrollmcnt in an ~v coursc (odd,
Fitzpatrick and Jcnnings acca, Gciscr and Santcliccs acc).
The correlation between the two is a relatively low 0.336 for the 964 stu-
dents in our study reporting both.
The College Board has responded by implementing an audit of high school
AP offerings aimed to help colleges and universities better interpret sec-
ondary school courses marked AP on students transcripts (College Board,
2007, p. 3).
Gradc ination in u.s. high schools is wcll documcntcd
and is problcmatic in tcrms ol collcgc admissions dccisions
(Voodru and Ziomck, acc). !n .6, only . pcrccnt ol
high school scniors had an A avcragc, in acc, ncarly
hall, pcrccnt (Coopcrativc !nstitutional Rcscarch Program
|civv| acc, Kirst and 8racco acc)had an A avcragc.
Gradc ination is particularly cvidcnt at thc highcr cnd ol
thc acadcmic scalc, whcrc thc rcsulting cciling ccct makcs
it dicult to distinguish among highpcrlorming candidatcs
(Ziomck and Svcc .,). Vcighting ol ~v courscs cxtcnds thc
statistical tail ol thc cv~ distribution at thc high cnd, making
dicrcnccs among candidatcs morc rcadily apparcnt.
Although collcgcs and univcrsitics utilizc a varicty ol
mcthods to dicrcntiatc among applicants ol divcrsc aca
dcmic backgrounds, thc rcscarch litcraturc includcs no ana
lytical approach to thc calculation ol a wcightcd nscv~
which includcs advanccd courscwork and ~v cxamination
scorcs. Tc purposc ol thc currcnt study is to invcstigatc thc
lcasibility ol accounting lor studcnt pcrlormancc in advanccd
high school courscwork through thc adjustmcnt ol nscv~
whilc scparating out variablcs that arc indcpcndcntly consid
crcd in thc admission proccss, e.g., s~:/~c: scorcs, commu
nity aucncc, typc ol high school, and racc/cthnicity.
Methods
Tis study rclatcs thrcc variablcs: high school scicncc gradc,
high school coursc lcvcl (i.e., rcgular, honors, Advanccd
Placcmcnt), and ~v cxamination scorc. Tcsc thrcc arc com
parcd, using as a common mctric how wcll studcnts pcrlorm
in thcir introductory collcgc biology, chcmistry, or physics
courscwork. !t is assumcd that thc collcgc gradc carncd
should rccct high school achicvcmcnt, courscwork, and ~v
cxam pcrlormancc. Tis analysis is possiblc bccausc at many
collcgcs, studcnts rcpcat, rathcr than placc out ol, thcir
introductory scicncc coursc, cvcn il thcy scorcd wcll on an ~v
cxam (FcrriniMundy and Gaudard .a, Villingham and
Morris .6). As a group, thcsc rctakcrs cannot bc dis
misscd as studcnts who had pcrlormcd poorly in thcir ~v
courscs. Fortyvc pcrccnt ol thcsc ~v studcnts rcportcd that
thcy took thc ~v cxam, thcir mcan scorc was .c, comparcd
to a. lor studcnts who took thc cxam nationally in thcsc
subjcct arcas (Collcgc ntrancc xamination 8oard accb),
and ,c pcrccnt ol studcnts had carncd a gradc ol A in thcir
~v coursc. Tc rcasons studcnts gavc lor rctaking this intro
ductory coursc wcrc varicd:
K Studcnt conccrn about solidilying thcir grasp
ol basic conccpts
K Advicc lrom acadcmic advisors and uppcrclassmcn
K Not attaining thc dcpartmcntal rcquircmcnt ol
an ~v scorc ol or
K Not carning a high cnough scorc on thc dcpartmcntal
placcmcnt cxam
For students in our study, weighting of their science coursework pushed 9%
of student GPAs beyond the 4.0 level.
9 VOLUME 82 College and University Journal ISSUE #4 (2007)
The Survey Instrument
!n thc rst two wccks ol thcir introductory scicncc coursc,
scicncc prolcssors distributcd a lourpagc, machincrcadablc
survcy. Rcviscd altcr two scts ol pilot studics so as to rcnc
itcms rclating to high school scicncc cxpcricnccs (e.g., lab
lrcqucncy and lrccdom, classroom activitics, homcwork and
othcr assignmcnts, and timc dcvotcd to particular scicntic
conccpts), it also collcctcd inlormation rclating to studcnts
pcrsonal background and high school. Rcscarch papcrs uti
lizing thcsc data includc thc tcaching ol chcmistry (Tai,
Sadlcr and Lochr acc, Tai, Vard, and Sadlcr acc6), block
schcduling (cxtcr, Tai and Sadlcr acc6), class sizc (Vyss,
Tai, and Sadlcr, acc,), scicncc activitics (Tai and Sadlcr acc,,
in prcss), high school gradcpointavcragc (Sadlcr and Tai
acc,), studcnt autonomy (Tai, Sadlcr, and Maltcsc, in prcss),
pcrlormancc in collcgc scicncc courscs (Sadlcr and Tai acc,,
in prcss), and prcparation lor succcss in collcgc scicncc (Tai,
Sadlcr and Mintzcs acc6). An carlicr study (Sadlcr and Tai
acc.) lound a signicant ccct on thc carncd collcgc gradc
dcpcnding on thc collcgc ycar in which studcnts took thc
coursc. !n particular, graduatc studcnts cnrolling in an intro
ductory coursc tcndcd to pcrlorm wcll.
As is common whcn cmploying cpidcmiological mcthods,
subjccts scllrcportcd most variablcs (e.g., high school gradcs,
courscwork, and ~v cxpcricncc). Collcgc studcnts scllrcports
ol coursc taking, gradcs carncd, and standardizcd tcst scorcs
havc bccn wcll studicd and tcnd to bc highly accuratc (Anaya
., 8aird .,6). Tis is cspccially truc ol rcportcd cnroll
mcnt in unambiguous contcntspccic courscs (e.g., chcmis
try vs. othcr history) and lor highcrpcrlorming studcnts
(Sawycr, Laing and Houston .). Vc utilizcd bcst practiccs
in survcy dcsign, attcnding to thc quality and spccicity ol
survcy itcms, in ordcr to optimizc accuratc rccall (8radburn,
Rips and Shcvcl .,, Grovcs ., Nicmi and Smith acc,
Pacc, 8arahona and Kaplan .). Vc conductcd our own
rcliability tcst by having .. collcgc chcmistry studcnts takc
thc samc survcy two wccks apart. Tc similarity ol rcsponscs
was wcll within thc acccptablc rangc lor survcy rcscarch.
The Sample
Tis study is onc componcnt ol Factors Inuencing College
Science Success (vicss), a lcdcrally lundcd national projcct that
includcs intcrvicws and survcys ol collcgc scicncc studcnts,
high school scicncc tcachcrs, and prolcssors ol biology, chcm
istry, and physics (intcrvicws arc acccssiblc onlinc at www.
css.org). !n total, wc collcctcd data lrom morc than .,ccc
studcnts at 6 randomly sclcctcd collcgcs and univcrsitics
straticd by sizc to match thc proportional cnrollmcnt at
small (cnrollmcnt lcss than .,ccc studcnts), mcdium, and
largc (cnrollmcnt grcatcr than .c,ccc studcnts) institutions.
For thc purposcs ol our analysis, wc limitcd our samplc to
rstscmcstcr, introductory biology, chcmistry, and physics
courscs lullling graduation rcquircmcnts lor scicncc or cngi
nccring majors. Tcsc . courscs at 6 univcrsitics and col
lcgcs had a mcan cnrollmcnt ol 6 studcnts and varicd in
cnrollmcnt lrom vc to c studcnts. Vc chosc lor our anal
ysis thc .. courscs in which cnrollmcnt was grcatcr than tcn
studcnts. Prolcssors wcrc cagcr to bc involvcd in this projcct,
particularly as othcr outcomcs includcd idcntilying pcdago
gics and activitics that bcst prcparc high school studcnts lor
succcss in collcgc scicncc courscs.
ur samplc compriscd c pcrccnt chcmistry, c pcrccnt
physics, and c pcrccnt biology studcnts. Approximatcly hall
took a rcgular coursc in high school, oncquartcr took an
honors coursc, and onctcnth had cnrollcd in an ~v coursc.
Tc oncsixth ol thc samplc who had not takcn a high
schoollcvcl coursc in thc subjcct wcrc not includcd in thc
analysis, nor wcrc lorcign studcnts as ncarly all had attcndcd
schools that did not lollow thc ycarlong coursc modcl in
placc at most u.s. high schools. Ncithcr did wc includc grad
uatc or spccial studcnts taking thcsc introductory courscs.
Tus, thc numbcr ol studcnts in thc rcsulting samplc totalcd
6,.c. Prolcssors varicd in tcrms ol thcir grading stringcncy.
Tc avcragc gradc awardcd in collcgc courscs was ..c (s.u. ol
mcan coursc gradc-.) out ol a maximum ol .cc points.
Unablc to cquatc grading standards across institutions, wc
analyzcd dicrcnccs within institutions by cmploying a scpa
ratc dummy variablc lor cach.
Studcnts taking introductory scicncc courscs appcarcd to
havc donc wcll in thc rclcvant high school scicncc subjcct, with
, pcrccnt having carncd a gradc ol A (see Figurc .). AP stu
dcnts in particular had pcrlormcd bcttcr than othcr studcnts,
having carncd highcr gradcs, having takcn morc mathcmatics
courscs, and having attaincd highcr standardizcd tcst scorcs.
nly . pcrccnt ol studcnts who cnrollcd in collcgc scicncc
courscs had carncd gradcs lowcr than a Cin thcir high school
biology, chcmistry, or physics courscs in thc samc subjcct.
Where letter grades were reported, they were converted using the assign-
ment: A+=98, A=95, A- =92, B+=88, etc.
FI GURE 1. DI STRI BUTI ON OF GRADES I N LAST HI GH
SCHOOL COURSE TAKEN I N SCI ENCE SUBJ ECT

S
t
u
d
e
n
t
s

i
n

E
a
c
h

G
r
o
u
p

(
%
)
High School Science Grade
Regular Course
(n=,)
Honors Course
(n=,)
AP Course
(n=)
Passed AP Exam
(n=)
F D C B A
(Error Bars SE)
10 VOLUME 82 College and University Journal ISSUE #4 (2007)
Graphing thc mcan collcgc scicncc gradc by high school
gradc in cach coursc typc rcvcals substantial dicrcnccs (see
Figurc a). Tc pattcrns arc quitc clcar: Studcnts with highcr
gradcs in a high school scicncc subjcct also had highcr avcragc
gradcs whcn thcy took thc subjcct in collcgc. ach incrcasc in
high school lcttcr gradc avcragcs to a point dicrcncc (out
ol .cc) in collcgc gradc, or a littlc lcss than hall a lcttcr gradc.
Tc incrcasc in coursc rigor lrom a rcgular coursc to an hon
ors coursc rcprcscnts a a. point dicrcncc. Tc dicrcncc in
rigor bctwccn honors and ~v courscs adds an additional .
points. Studcnts who takc and pass thc ~v cxam with a scorc
ol or abovc avcragc a collcgc gradc .., points highcr than
thosc who do not pass thc ~v cxam. l coursc, thcsc obscrva
tions do not takc into account thc dicrcnt numbcrs ol stu
dcnts in cach group (thcy also ignorc studcnts who carncd a
gradc lowcr than a C). !nstructivc as this graph is, it also is
mislcading as othcr mcasurcs that arc considcrcd along with
coursc gradc and lcvcl arc also part ol thc admissions proccss.
!t is only by accounting lor thcsc othcr variablcs that morc
valid cstimatcs ol thc impact ol high school coursctaking and
pcrlormancc can bc madc.
Analysis
Multiplc lincar rcgrcssion is thc propcr tool lor thc proposcd
analysis bccausc it cstablishcs thc prcdictivc powcr ol vari
ablcs whilc holding othcrs constant, isolating thc ccct ol
conditions that may covary. !n this casc, wc want to scparatc
thc highcst lcvcl ol high school rigor (rcgular, honors, taking
~v, or passing thc ~v cxam) lrom thc gradc carncd (A, 8, C,
, or F) in high school biology, chcmistry, or physics. 8y
doing this whilc controlling lor othcr variablcs considcrcd in
admission dccisions, a point bonus could bc calculatcd. Vc
dcvclopcd vc modcls to prcdict collcgc gradc, accounting
lor an incrcasing numbcr ol rclcvant lactors, including:
Categories with fewer than 50 students are not plotted.
K Raw Data. Uscs high school
coursc rigor and lcttcr gradc
only.
K +Professor. Adds in collcgc
coursc and collcgc ycar.
K +SATs. Adds in s~: or ~c:
scorcs.
K Full Model. Adds in racc/cth
nicity, mcan cducational lcvcl
ol thc community, typc ol high
school, and highcst mathc
matics lcvcl in high school.
K Weighted Model. Adjusts lor
dicrcnccs bctwccn national
~v cxam lrcqucncics and
obscrvcd cnrollmcnt in intro
ductory scicncc courscs.
Tc Fa. Data Model accounts
lor .a.. pcrccnt ol thc variancc in collcgc gradc in introduc
tory biology, chcmistry, or physics. Tc +Professor modcl
accounts lor variation in grading scvcrity by prolcssor, in
csscncc normalizing collcgc gradcs to havc idcntical mcans
lor cach coursc. Vc also includcd collcgc ycar, sincc oldcr
studcnts havc morc cxpcricncc dcaling with collcgc lilc and
othcr strcsscs that may acct thcir gradcs. (n thc othcr
hand, lcsswcllprcparcd studcnts oltcn dclay taking rcquircd
scicncc courscs). Tc +STCT modcl adds in s~: and ~c:
scorcs mcasuring quantitativc and vcrbal achicvcmcnt. (Tcsc
mcasurcs arc indcpcndcnt ol high school gradcs.) ~c: scorcs
arc convcrtcd to thc s~: scoring scalc using a concordancc
study (orans .). !n thc Full Model, lour additional vari
ablcs wcrc addcd: Trcc scrvc as proxics lor studcnts socio
cconomic status: racc/cthnicity, mcan cducational lcvcl ol thc
community (attaincd by matching studcntsupplicd zip codcs
with U.S. Ccnsus data), and typc ol high school (e.g., privatc,
Table 1: Variables and Their Signicance for Four Models
Relating High School Course Rigor and Grade
Variable DoF Raw Data +Professor +SAT/ACT Full Model
Constant 1 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.001
Honors Course 1 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.001
Advanced Placement 1 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.001
AP Exam score 3 1 0.008 0.001 0.001 0.001
HS Grade in Science Subject 1 0.001 0.001 0.001 0.001
Professor 112 0.001 0.001 0.001
College Year 3 0.001 0.043 0.092
SAT Quantitative 1 0.001 0.001
SAT Verbal 1 0.001 0.001
Race/Ethnic Group 4 0.001
Mean Ed. Level of Community 1 0.001
Type of High School 8 0.001
Highest Math Level in High School 2 0.001
# of Subjects 6,910 6,910 6,493 6,368
R^2 12.1% 24.7% 30.4% 32.4%
FI GURE 2: MEAN I NTRODUCTORY COLLEGE SCI ENCE COURSE
GRADE BY GRADE EARNED I N EACH HI GH SCHOOL COURSE

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e
g
e

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i
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e
High School Science Grade
Regular Course
Honors Course
AP Course
Passed AP Exam
C B A
(Error Bars SE of the Mean)
11 VOLUME 82 College and University Journal ISSUE #4 (2007)
public, magnct, homc school, ctc.). arlicr work has shown
that thc lcvcl ol mathcmatics instruction rcachcd in high
schoolparticularly calculushas a strong rclationship with
collcgc scicncc pcrlormancc (Sadlcr and Tai, acc., Tai, Sadlcr
and Lochr acc). Tis modcl accounts lor a. pcrccnt ol thc
variancc in collcgc scicncc gradc.
Coccicnts lor variablcs rclcvant to cquating high school
coursc rigor and gradc arc rcportcd in Tablc a. For cach
advanccd group (honors, ~v, and ~v xam Scorc), a rcgrcs
sion coccicnt is listcd, rcprcscnting thc dicrcncc in collcgc
gradc carncd (on a .ccpoint scalc) lrom thc collcgc gradc ol
thosc cnrollcd only in a rcgular high school coursc in thc
subjcct. Also calculatcd was a coccicnt rcprcscnting thc
incrcasc in collcgc gradc accountcd lor by a onclcttcr gradc
incrcasc (e.g., lrom a 8 to an A) in thc last high school coursc
in thc subjcct. Vhilc thc slopcs ol lincs in Figurc . (on pagc
) arc slightly dicrcnt, a tcst ol thc intcraction bctwccn high
school gradc and typc ol coursc is not signicant, so thc samc
gradc coccicnt can bc uscd lor cach group in thc modcl.
Tcsc coccicnts and thcir standard crrors arc listcd lor cach
ol thc lour rcgrcssion modcls. For cxamplc, using thc Fa.
Data modcl, thc dicrcncc in collcgc gradc carncd bctwccn
thosc who wcrc awardcd an A and thosc who wcrc awardcd a
8 in high school is .,c points. Tc dicrcncc bctwccn thosc
in an honors coursc in high school and a rcgular coursc in
high school provcd to bc cquivalcnt to a a..6 point dicrcncc
in collcgc gradc. ividing thc lattcr by thc lormcr rcsultcd in
an cstimatc ol thc valuc ol an advanccd coursc in units ol
high school lcttcr gradc. For thc abovc cxamplc:
Bonus
(honors course)
-
College Grade(honors course)
College Grade(one HS letter grade)
Bonus
(honors course)
-
2.16
- 0.46
4.70
Tis calculation was pcrlormcd lor cach group within
cach modcl and rcprcscnts thc numbcr ol bonus points or
lraction ol a lcttcr gradc onc would add to a studcnts sci
cncc gradc lor bcing in cach advanccd coursc.
Tc distribution ol ~v cxam scorcs among thc studcnts in
our study suggcsts that highcrscoring studcnts may bypass
thc introductory coursc and lowcrpcrlorming studcnts may
choosc not to takc thc collcgc coursc. To account lor this dil
lcrcncc, wc wcightcd thc lull modcl to makc up lor thc
shortlall ol studcnts in thcsc catcgorics and to morc accu
ratcly rccct thc lact that thc population ol studcnts applying
to collcgc dicrs somcwhat lrom that ol studcnts who choosc
to takc an introductory scicncc coursc. Tis wcighting pro
duccs coccicnts not signicantly dicrcnt lrom thc lull
modcl (see Tablc a).
Tc rcsults provcd rcmarkably similar lor cach group ovcr
thc vc modcls gcncratcd: onchall a bonus point lor an
honors coursc, onc point lor an ~v coursc, and two points lor
passing an ~v cxam. Altcrnativcly, a cv~ bonus could bc
addcd to thc ovcrall nscv~ by assuming that studcnts takc
vc ycarlong courscs lor cach ol thc lour ycars (lor a total ol
ac courscs) thcy arc in high school. Tis would add c.ca to
thc nscv~ lor an honors coursc, c.c lor an ~v coursc, and
c..c lor passing an ~v cxam.
Plotting thc two variablcs ( in collcgc gradc rclatcd to ns
coursc rigor and in collcgc gradc rclatcd to ol onc ns lct
tcr gradc) prcscnts thc data in a particularly usclul lorm (see
Figurc ). Tc rclationships show up cvcn morc clcarly, as do
thc cstimatcd crrors. For this graph, cach axis is mcasurcd in
units ol . point on a .ccpoint collcgc grading scalc, with an
A cqual to points and a 8 cqual to points. ach diago
nal linc rcprcscnts a bonus point valuc. Tc cxamplc calcu
latcd abovc is plottcd as thc Fa. Data honor coursc and is
rcprcscntcd by thc closcd diamond lowcst and larthcst to thc
right on thc graph. (!t is ncar thc diagonal linc labclcd
Table 2: Increase in College Science Performance Associated with One Letter-Grade
Increase in High School Science Grade and with High School Course Rigor
Raw Data +Professor +SAT/ACT Scores Full Model Weighted Model
Coefcent Bonus Coefcent Bonus Coefcent Bonus Coefcent Bonus Coefcent Bonus
HS Letter Grade 4.70 (0.18) 4.57 (0.18) 3.69 (0.18) 3.44 (0.18) 3.41
Honors 2.16 (0.29) 0.46 2.66 (0.29) 0.58 1.73 (0.29) 0.47 1.27 (0.29) 0.37 1.28 0.38
AP 4.81 (0.49) 1.02 4.78 (0.47) 1.05 3.71 (0.46) 1.01 3.34 (0.46) 0.97 3.20 0.94
AP Exam 3 7.15 (0.77) 1.52 8.57 (0.75) 1.87 6.51 (0.73) 1.76 6.13 (0.72) 1.78 6.47 1.90
FI GURE 3: COMPARI SON OF CALCULATED BONUS
POI NT VALUES BY HI GH SCHOOL COURSE RI GOR

Bonus
Point

B
o
n
u
s
P
o
in
t

B
o
n
u
s
P
o
in
t
s
Honors Course
AP Course
Passed AP Exam
(Error Bars SE
of the Mean)

Raw Data
+College
+SAT/ACT Scores
Full Model Full Model, Weighted
Increase in College Grade
Related to an Increase of One HS Letter Grade
I
n
c
r
e
a
s
e

i
n

C
o
l
l
e
g
e

G
r
a
d
e

R
e
l
a
t
e
d

t
o

H
S

C
o
u
r
s
e

R
i
g
o
r
12 VOLUME 82 College and University Journal ISSUE #4 (2007)
8onus Point.) ach sct ol lour points rcprcscnting High
School Coursc Rigor is clustcrcd along a diagonal. Tc inclu
sion ol morc variablcs in cach rcgrcssion modcl gcncrally
lorccs thc data points downward and lcltward. ach addi
tional group ol variablcs cxplains somc additional bit ol thc
prcdictivc valuc ol high school coursc gradc and high school
coursc rigor. Tc Full Model, !eighted appcars only minimally
dicrcnt lrom thc lull modcl.
!n summary, two variablcs wcrc lound to corrcspond to
substantially bcttcr pcrlormancc in collcgc scicncc courscs:
incrcasing rigor ol high school scicncc cxpcricncc and highcr
gradcs in high school scicncc courscs. Tcsc two variablcs can
bc rclatcd to cach othcr using rclativc improvcmcnt in col
lcgc gradc as a common mctric. Tc rcsults arc stablc cvcn
with thc inclusion ol control variablcsvariablcs typically
trcatcd scparatcly in thc admissions proccss. !n units ol high
school lcttcr gradc, an honors coursc in thc subjcct corrc
sponds to an incrcasc ol onchall ol a lcttcr gradc and an ~v
courscs corrcsponds to an incrcasc ol onc lcttcr gradc, lor
studcnts who pass thc rcquisitc ~v cxam, thc gradc lcvcl
cquivalcnt is two additional lcttcr gradcs.
Discussion
Many cducators proclaim thc bcncts ol taking advanccd
courscs in high school ovcr lcss rigorous altcrnativcs, dcspitc
thc possibility that a studcnt may carn lowcr gradcs (Adclman
., Rosc and 8ctts acc., \cnczia et al. acc). Tc award ol
bonus points addcd to carncd gradcs in advanccd scicncc
courscs tics togcthcr grading scalcs in dicrcnt kinds ol
courscs, purposclully combining two rclatcd variablcs into a
singlc mcasurc. Vc cxplorcd lour dicrcnt modcls lor doing
this bascd on thc inclusion ol othcr lactors oltcn considcrcd
scparatcly in admissions dccisions. Tc lact that thc calcu
latcd bonus valucs rcmain rclativcly unchangcd is cvidcncc
that thc taking ol advanccd courscwork (or passing an ~v
cxam) can bc disassociatcd lrom othcr mcasurcs commonly
uscd in admissions. ur modcls account lor inlormation
typically availablc to collcgc admissions occrs and cxcludc
othcr mcasurcs that typically arc unavailablc (e.g., parcntal
cducation, lamily incomc).
Tis study cannot bc intcrprctcd as cvidcncc that advanccd
courscwork contributcs to studcnt pcrlormancc in collcgc
scicncc courscs per se, only that thcy arc a signicant prcdic
tor ol pcrlormancc. Apart lrom including othcr variablcs in
rcgrcssion modcls, onc cannot know il bcttcr pcrlormancc is
thc rcsult ol grcatcr studcnt motivation, bcttcr prcparation
prior to taking advanccd courscwork, parcntal cducation,
tcachcr quality, or a multitudc ol othcr variablcs (oughcrty,
Mcllor and Jian acc6). Morcovcr, likc all cducational
intcrvcntions, ~v is not a panacca (8lcskcRcchck, Lubinski
and 8cnbow acc, p.aac). !l studcnts arc illprcparcd,
advanccd courscwork may bc unproductivc and cvcn may
havc dclctcrious cccts (8lcskcRcchck et al. acc, National
Rcscarch Council acca) !t is bcyond thc scopc ol this papcr
to cxaminc this issuc (scc Sadlcr and Tai acc,, in prcss, lor a
discussion) givcn that our primary conccrn was to utilizc
high school gradcs and coursc rigor to prcdict pcrlormancc
in collcgc courscs.
Somc may vicw to our rccommcndations as contributing
to a twoticrcd cducational systcm (upuis ., p..)
whcrcby studcnts ol highcr sociocconomic status (SS) havc
morc acccss to advanccd courscs and thus might garncr morc
bonus points and highcr nscv~s as a rcsult (8urdinan accc).
High schools in wcalthicr communitics and clitc privatc
schools do ocr advanccd courscwork with grcatcr lrcqucncy.
Studcnts who do not havc thc opportunity to takc advanccd
high school courscwork would bc pcnalizcd by thc kinds ol
admissions policics rccommcndcd in this papcr unless an
adjustmcnt wcrc madc lor thc lack ol advanccd coursc ocr
ings (upuis .). !t is thc authors vicw that admission to
our nations collcgcs and univcrsitics should not bc bascd on
acadcmic indicators alonc. !nstitutions ol highcr cducation
bcnct lrom having a divcrsc studcnt body. Howcvcr, thosc
dctcrmining acccss to highcr cducation should not shy away
lrom using thc most valid mcasurcs availablc lor cstimating
studcnts acadcmic succcss. Just as s~: scorcs arc corrclatcd
with svs, thcy arc still utilizcd in admissions dccisions (8clz
and Gcary .). Vc prcscnt in this papcr a dclcnsiblc
mcthod to asccrtain thc rclativc strcngth ol applicants aca
dcmic prcparation. Should an institution dccidc to acccpt
studcnts who arc lcss wcllprcparcd acadcmically, it bchoovcs
thcm both to ocr support programs and to adopt rctcntion
stratcgics dcsigncd to hclp compcnsatc lor thcsc dicrcnccs
(Marablc .).
Tc mcthod prcscntcd hcrc lor combining two admissions
variablcs into onc utilizcs pcrlormancc in introductory col
lcgc scicncc courscs as a common mctric. Tc samc tcchniquc
could bc uscd with othcr mctrics, e.g., s~: ii scorcs in partic
ular disciplincs or cxams uscd by collcgcs lor placcmcnt into
dicrcnt lcvcls ol acadcmic courscs. !l similar bonus point
valucs rcsult, this would add to thc cvidcncc supporting this
approach to thc rccasting ol nscv~. Tc currcnt study
cxplorcd only scicncc courscwork and gradcs. Vhilc it may
bc attractivc to gcncralizc to advanccd courscwork in all
clds, thcrc is no rcason to bclicvc that similar ndings would
rcsult. Morcovcr, thc usc ol largcr datascts than ours would
scrvc to dctcrminc whcthcr advanccd biology, chcmistry, and
physics high school courscs should bc trcatcd dicrcntly.
Acknowledgements
Tc authors would likc to acknowlcdgc thosc who hclpcd
makc this largc rcscarch projcct possiblc: Janicc M. arlc,
Finbarr C. Sloanc, and Larry . Sutcr ol thc National Scicncc
Foundation lor thcir insight and support, Jamcs H.
Vandcrscc, Jocl J. Mintzcs, Lillian C. Mccrmott, ric
Mazur, udlcy R. Hcrschbach, 8rian Altcrs, and Jason Vilcs
ol thc F!CCS Advisory 8oard lor thcir guidancc, and Nancy
Cianchctta, Susan Matthcws, an Rccord, and Tim Rccd ol
our High School Advisory 8oard lor thcir timc and wisdom.
Tis rcscarch has rcsultcd lrom thc tirclcss corts ol many on
13 VOLUME 82 College and University Journal ISSUE #4 (2007)
our rcscarch tcam: Michacl Filisky, Gcrhard Sonncrt, Hal
Coylc, Cynthia Crockctt, 8rucc Vard, Judith Pcritz, Annctttc
Trcnga, Frccman cutsch, Zahra Hazari, Jamic Millcr, John
Lochr, Adam Maltcsc, and Marc Schwartz. Matthcw H.
Schncps, Nancy Finkclstcin, Alcx Griswold, Tobias
Mclhcny, Yacl 8owman, and Alcxia Prichard ol our Scicncc
Mcdia Group constructcd our disscmination Vcb sitc (www.
css.org). Vc also apprcciatc advicc and intcrcst lrom scvcral
collcagucs in thc cld: Michacl Ncuschatz ol thc Amcrican
!nstitutc ol Physics, Villiam Lichtcn ol Yalc Univcrsity,
Kristcn Hu and Trcvor Packcr ol thc Collcgc ntrancc
xamination 8oard, Charlcs Alcock, !rwin Shapiro, Villiam
Fitzsimmons, Marlyn McGrath Lcwis, and Gcorgcnc
Hcrschbach ol Harvard Univcrsity, Rory 8rownc ol 8oston
Collcgc, and Kristcn Kloplcnstcin ol Tcxas Christian
Univcrsity. Vc arc indcbtcd to collcgc and univcrsity prolcs
sors nationwidc who lclt it worthwhilc to administcr our
survcys and to thcir studcnts lor thcir willingncss to answcr
our qucstions. Tis work has bccn carricd out undcr a grant
lrom thc !ntcragcncy ducational Rcscarch !nitiativc (NSF
RC c..6). Any opinions, ndings, and conclusions or
rccommcndations cxprcsscd in this matcrial arc thosc ol thc
authors and do not ncccssarily rccct thc vicws ol thc
National Scicncc Foundation, thc U.S. cpartmcnt ol
ducation, or thc National !nstitutcs ol Hcalth.
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Philip M. Sadler earned a B.S. in Physics from MIT in 1973 and taught
middle school science and mathematics for several years before earning
a Doctorate in Education in 1992. Dr. Sadler has taught Harvards courses
for new science teachers and for doctoral students in science. As F.W.
Wright Senior Lecturer in Astronomy, he teaches Harvards oldest under-
graduate course in science, Celestial Navigation. He directs one of the
largest research groups in science education in the United States., based
at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. In 1999, Dr. Sadler
won the Journal of Research in Science Teaching Award for work (on
assessing student understanding in science) deemed the most signicant
contribution to science education research in the preceding year. His
research interests include assessment of students scientic misconcep-
tions and how they change as a result of instruction, the development of
computer technologies that allow youngsters to engage in research, and
models for enhancement of the skills of experienced teachers. He was
executive producer of A Private Universe, an award-winning video on
student conceptions in science. He won the Astronomical Society of the
Pacics Brennan Prize for contributions to astronomy teaching in 2002.
He is the inventor of the Starlab Portable Planetarium and many other
devices used for the teaching of astronomy worldwide. Materials and
curricula developed by Dr. Sadler are used by an estimated 12 million stu-
dents every year.
Robert H. Tai is an Assistant Professor of Science Education at the Curry
School of Education at the University of Virginia. His current research
includes statistical studies of the impact of high school learning experi-
ences as measured by student performance in introductory college sci-
ence. Mr. Tais research includes the study of eye-gaze behaviors as a
measure of scientic expertise and the study of the transition from grad-
uate student to research scientist. Mr. Tais past work includes analysis of
ethnic/racial differences in high school science education persistence and
gender differences in physics education. Critical Ethnicity: Countering the
Waves of Identity Politics (1999) is an edited volume among his publica-
tions. Mr. Tai currently teaches science education for pre-service elemen-
tary school teachers; his interest in this area grew out of his work at the
College of Staten Island of the City University of New York. Mr. Tai also
has served as an editor of the Harvard Educational Review and as a high
school physics teacher.
Tis article originally appeared in College . Uni.ersity (!olume 8:, No. , [:cc,J), and is being reproduceddistributed .ith the
permission of the merican ssociation of Collegiate Fegistrars and dmissions Ocers. CCopyright :cc,.