Shifting College Majors in Response to Advanced Placement Exam Scores

Christopher Avery, Oded Gurantz, Michael Hurwitz and Jonathan Smith
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Christopher Avery: Harvard University
Oded Gurantz: Stanford University
Michael Hurwitz: College Board

Working Paper Series from Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government

Abstract: Mapping continuous raw scores from millions of Advanced Placement examinations onto the 1 to 5 integer scoring scale, we apply a regression discontinuity design to understand how students' choice of college major is impacted by receiving a higher integer score, despite similar exam performance, to students who received a lower integer score. Attaining higher scores increases the probability that a student will major in that exam subject by approximately 5 percent (0.64 percentage points), with some individual exams demonstrating increases in major choice by as much as 30 percent. These direct impacts of a higher score explain approximately 11 percent of the unconditional 64 percent (5.7 percentage points) gap in the probability of majoring in the same subject as the AP exam when attaining a 5 versus a 4. We estimate that a substantial portion of the overall effect is driven by behavioral responses to the positive signal of receiving a higher score.

Date: 2016-10
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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https://research.hks.harvard.edu/publications/getFile.aspx?Id=1470

Related works:
Journal Article: Shifting College Majors in Response to Advanced Placement Exam Scores (2018)
Working Paper: Shifting College Majors in Response to Advanced Placement Exam Scores (2016)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ecl:harjfk:rwp16-058

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