The Effects of Delivering Personalized Course Recommendations at Scale on AP Exam Participation and Performance

Abstract

Gaps in advanced high school coursework by socioeconomic status and geography continue to persist in the United States, even among students who have the ability and access to succeed in them. Lack of information on course availability and inaccurate self-perceptions may contribute to the persistence of these inequities. We report on a low-cost, large scale experiment designed to increase Advanced Placement (AP) participation among two groups of students with historically low participation rates: underrepresented minority students and students attending rural high schools. Students and parents assigned to treatment received personalized outreach via multiple communication channels about APs offered at their high school in which they demonstrated potential to succeed. Outreach increased the probability of AP Exam participation in subjects in which students demonstrated potential to succeed by 1.1 percentage points, a 2.5 percent increase over the control group participation rate. This, in turn, increased the probability that students scored 3 or higher on those AP Exams by 0.5 percentage points, a 1.4 percent increase over the control group rate. Intervention effects were concentrated among underrepresented minority students attending non-rural schools and relatively less academically prepared students. These findings indicate that personalized course recommendations can increase equity in advanced high school course participation, although the design of outreach campaigns at scale that engage students deeply is a crucial challenge to their efficacy.