Arriving at an Action Research Topic

As I continue through this course I have begun to narrow down topics for my action research project as an educational leader. I believe my main area of focus will revolve around the AP program and its benefits to students during their high school and post high school careers. An interesting stat that I heard while attending an AP institute at Rice University was that students enrolled in the AP program and receiving university credit were outperforming students in upper level classes at texas university in Austin. This shows the dramatic importance but are kids being placed too early into these programs? Are students who had personality conflicts with early teachers being marginalized? Is the Honors program at schools irrelevant now with the prevalence of AP courses?