Project
Accelerate, a National Science Foundation funded project, is a partnership
program between Boston University (BU) and high schools to bring a College
Board accredited AP® Physics 1 course to schools not offering this opportunity.
Economically disadvantaged and underrepresented high school students in many
urban, rural, and small suburban communities don’t have access to Advanced
Placement® (AP®) courses. Lacking opportunity to access
rigorous physics courses in high school, these demographic groups are hard
pressed to compete in physical science related STEM fields and academic
programs with their peers from more affluent communities. Results indicate that students participating in
Project Accelerate do as well or better than their peers enrolled in
traditional classroom-based AP® Physics 1 classes. In addition, students show increased interest in pursuing STEM academic programs post high school as a result of participating Project Accelerate.