The importance of college to the individual and society has prompted recent policies and accountability systems to emphasize college readiness as the primary benchmark for high school success. Advanced/honors courses, Advanced Placement (AP)/dual credit courses, and gifted programs are the most common advanced academic service options available in public schools to ensure college readiness. This study investigated 2014-2015 school year data associated with 2,792 students in five high schools in five different school districts in rural remote Appalachian Kentucky. The goal was to see which advanced academic service was most associated with college ready students. College readiness was measured in two ways: ACT composite scores and enrollment in college full-time immediately after high school. Findings from descriptive and comparative analyses indicated that participation in both AP and dual credit courses were associated with higher ACT composite scores and enrollment in college after graduation. Students who participated in gifted services had considerably higher ACT composite scores and attendance in college after graduation. Students who took advanced/honors courses demonstrated fairly low ACT composite scores and showed no greater attendance in college after graduation than the general population. These results raise questions about the effectiveness of advanced academic services to ensure college readiness, at least in rural remote schools. To better make use of limited funding and other support, findings from this study suggest that state and district policies and systems to account for student college readiness may need to (1) reconsider which advanced academic services best promote college readiness, and (2) ensure student records and accountability systems allow for better analysis of which services are most effective for students.
","abstract_html":"<p>The importance of college to the individual and society has prompted recent policies and accountability systems to emphasize college readiness as the primary benchmark for high school success. Advanced/honors courses, Advanced Placement (AP)/dual credit courses, and gifted programs are the most common advanced academic service options available in public schools to ensure college readiness. This study investigated 2014-2015 school year data associated with 2,792 students in five high schools in five different school districts in rural remote Appalachian Kentucky. The goal was to see which advanced academic service was most associated with college ready students. College readiness was measured in two ways: ACT composite scores and enrollment in college full-time immediately after high school. Findings from descriptive and comparative analyses indicated that participation in both AP and dual credit courses were associated with higher ACT composite scores and enrollment in college after graduation. Students who participated in gifted services had considerably higher ACT composite scores and attendance in college after graduation. Students who took advanced/honors courses demonstrated fairly low ACT composite scores and showed no greater attendance in college after graduation than the general population. These results raise questions about the effectiveness of advanced academic services to ensure college readiness, at least in rural remote schools. To better make use of limited funding and other support, findings from this study suggest that state and district policies and systems to account for student college readiness may need to (1) reconsider which advanced academic services best promote college readiness, and (2) ensure student records and accountability systems allow for better analysis of which services are most effective for students. </p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Thomas, Franklin Brian"],"institution":"Eastern Kentucky University","degree_name":"Doctor of Education (EdD)","degree_level":"Doctoral's","degree_discipline":"Educational Leadership and Policy Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2017,"date_issued":"2017-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2017-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:39Z","subjects":["Advanced Placement","College Readiness","Gifted","Honors","Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research","Secondary Education"],"languages":[],"rights":["Copyright 2017 Franklin Brian Thomas"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/469","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Thomas, Franklin Brian"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Educational Leadership and Policy Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Doctoral's"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Education (EdD)"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Eastern Kentucky University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Advanced Placement","College Readiness","Gifted","Honors","Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research","Secondary Education"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2017 Franklin Brian Thomas"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/469"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The importance of college to the individual and society has prompted recent policies and accountability systems to emphasize college readiness as the primary benchmark for high school success. Advanced/honors courses, Advanced Placement (AP)/dual credit courses, and gifted programs are the most common advanced academic service options available in public schools to ensure college readiness. This study investigated 2014-2015 school year data associated with 2,792 students in five high schools in five different school districts in rural remote Appalachian Kentucky. The goal was to see which advanced academic service was most associated with college ready students. College readiness was measured in two ways: ACT composite scores and enrollment in college full-time immediately after high school. Findings from descriptive and comparative analyses indicated that participation in both AP and dual credit courses were associated with higher ACT composite scores and enrollment in college after graduation. Students who participated in gifted services had considerably higher ACT composite scores and attendance in college after graduation. Students who took advanced/honors courses demonstrated fairly low ACT composite scores and showed no greater attendance in college after graduation than the general population. These results raise questions about the effectiveness of advanced academic services to ensure college readiness, at least in rural remote schools. To better make use of limited funding and other support, findings from this study suggest that state and district policies and systems to account for student college readiness may need to (1) reconsider which advanced academic services best promote college readiness, and (2) ensure student records and accountability systems allow for better analysis of which services are most effective for students.
"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:source","label":"Dc Source","values":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Relationship Between Advanced Academic Services And College Readiness Among Public High School Students In Rural Remote Appalachian Kentucky"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Thomas, Franklin Brian"],"dc:description.abstract":["The importance of college to the individual and society has prompted recent policies and accountability systems to emphasize college readiness as the primary benchmark for high school success. Advanced/honors courses, Advanced Placement (AP)/dual credit courses, and gifted programs are the most common advanced academic service options available in public schools to ensure college readiness. This study investigated 2014-2015 school year data associated with 2,792 students in five high schools in five different school districts in rural remote Appalachian Kentucky. The goal was to see which advanced academic service was most associated with college ready students. College readiness was measured in two ways: ACT composite scores and enrollment in college full-time immediately after high school. Findings from descriptive and comparative analyses indicated that participation in both AP and dual credit courses were associated with higher ACT composite scores and enrollment in college after graduation. Students who participated in gifted services had considerably higher ACT composite scores and attendance in college after graduation. Students who took advanced/honors courses demonstrated fairly low ACT composite scores and showed no greater attendance in college after graduation than the general population. These results raise questions about the effectiveness of advanced academic services to ensure college readiness, at least in rural remote schools. To better make use of limited funding and other support, findings from this study suggest that state and district policies and systems to account for student college readiness may need to (1) reconsider which advanced academic services best promote college readiness, and (2) ensure student records and accountability systems allow for better analysis of which services are most effective for students.
"],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/469"],"dc:publisher":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2017 Franklin Brian Thomas"],"dc:source":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"],"dc:subject":["Advanced Placement","College Readiness","Gifted","Honors","Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research","Secondary Education"],"dc:title":["The Relationship Between Advanced Academic Services And College Readiness Among Public High School Students In Rural Remote Appalachian Kentucky"],"dc:type":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Educational Leadership and Policy Studies"],"thesis:degree_level":["Doctoral's"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Education (EdD)"],"thesis:institution_name":["Eastern Kentucky University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:39Z"}