Office of Shared Accountability Reports

Impact of Advanced Grade 8 U.S. History on Participation and Performance in Advanced Placement Social Studies Courses in Grade 9

Description:

The study compared Grade 9 enrollment and performance in Advanced Placement (AP) U.S. History or AP U.S. Government with National, State, and Local (NSL) Government for students who took Advanced Grade 8 U.S. History from 2009-2010 to 2011-2012 with peers who did not. Overall, the percentage of students who took Advanced Grade 8 U.S. History increased from 28% in 2010 when only 18 middle schools offered the course to 86% in 2013 when all the middle schools offered the course. The relative proportion of all students with Advanced Grade 8 U.S. History who later enrolled in AP social studies in Grade 9 (12%) remained stable from 2010-2011 to 2012-2013. Two thirds or more of the students enrolled in an AP social studies course in Grade 9 earned a score of 3 or higher on their AP tests.

Recommendations:

  • Examine practices related to AP social studies course availability to Grade 9 students across MCPS high schools to identify factors that are limiting or driving the enrollment patterns in AP social studies in Grade 9.
  • Investigate why rates of participation in Advanced Grade 8 U.S. History vary across middle schools and student subgroups.
  • Study and disseminate the best practices of middle schools with 100% participation in advanced Grade 8 U.S. History.
  • Consider expanding the criteria for students perceived to be ready for AP social studies in Grade 9 to include students who performed at the Proficient level on state assessments who also had Advanced Grade 8 U.S. History and an overall GPA ≥ 3.0.

    File Name: Advanced Grade 8 US History Final_15.01.14.pdf (1.1MB PDF)