Assessing the COVID-19 Pandemic’s Influence on Advanced Placement College Readiness Indicators in Texas From 2019 to 2021

This study investigated the Advanced Placement (AP) college readiness indicator among gifted secondary students in Texas during 2019–2021 as related to COVID-19. Utilizing publicly available administrative data from the Texas Education Agency and a hierarchical linear model, the paper identifies changes in Texas school districts’ college readiness success rates across demographic and geographic factors, AP class enrollment, and qualifying score obtainment. Findings indicated a decline in exam participation and success throughout the years, demonstrating a negative influence of the pandemic. Asian students exhibited a greater success rate on AP exams compared to White students, whereas African American, Hispanic, or low-socioeconomic status students showed lower success rates. However, emergent bilingual learners demonstrated more success than the normed reference group. Using the city as the normed geographic location, there was not much difference among suburb, town, and rural area performance. However, the difference between town and rural areas was noticeable.