The Relationship Between Advanced Placement Mathematics Courses and Students’ STEM Career Interest

Bibliographic Data

ID9734211
AuthorsRussell T Warne (0000-0003-4763-3625, Utah Valley University, Orem, UT, corresponding author), Gerhard Sonnert (0000-0003-4138-2044, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA), Philip M Sadler (0000-0001-7578-4047, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA)
Year2019
Volume48
Issue2
Pages101-111
Publication date2019-03-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEducational Researcher (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0013-189X • E-ISSN: 1935-102X
PublisherAmerican Educational Research Association (AERA) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.3102/0013189x19825811
OpenAlexW2921541123
LanguageEN
Citations received13
References cited35

Increasing the number of students choosing a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) career is a national educational priority. One way thought to increase interest in STEM is with advanced STEM courses in high school, especially Advanced Placement (AP) courses. Using data from 15,847 college undergraduates, we investigated the relationship between participation in AP mathematics courses (AP Calculus and AP Statistics) and student career interest in STEM. After controlling for covariates, the strongest effect ( d = 0.13) showed that students who took AP Calculus had a modestly higher career interest in engineering and mathematics/computer science. However, the relationship between most AP mathematics courses and most STEM career outcomes was negligible. Most differences in outcomes between AP and non-AP students are likely due to preexisting differences between the two groups

Advanced Placement · Mathematics education · Medical education · Career Development and Diversity · Mathematics Education and Programs · Medicine · Psychology · Science Education and Pedagogy