More students taking AP, scoring 3 and above
Nationwide, about 16% of students took advance placement courses in high school
and earned a score of 3 or higher, says the College Board's 6th Annual AP Report
to the Nation. Increasing numbers of African American, Latino and American
Indian students are also participating in AP, although African American and
American Indian students are still significantly underrepresented.
For the second year, Maryland had the largest percentage of students that
took AP courses and received a score of 3 (24.8%). Florida, which has the
largest number of students taking AP courses saw the biggest 1-year jump in
those who scored a 3 (a 3.1% change for a total of 21.3%) and Florida saw the
biggest 5-year increase ( a 5.8% change for a total of 22.9%). Eighteen states
equaled or exceeded the national percentage of 15.9%.
"If the U.S. is to succeed in shrinking the gap between those who enter
college and those who complete a degree, the gulf between high school graduation
standards and first-year college course requirements must be eliminated," the
report says.
"While some recent research shows how exposing students to the college-level
standards inherent in AP courses can lead to college success (even for those
students who score 1s or 2s on an AP exam), the likelihood of college success is
stronger for those students who score a 3 or higher."
While test participation overall has increased dramatically over time, the
percentage of AP exams with a passing score has declined, according to College
Board. The data show that 56.5% of tests taken by the class of 2009 earned a
score of 3 or higher, compared with 60.8% for the class of 2001.
Many initiatives are needed to prepare middle school students and 9th and
10th graders so that all students have an equitable chance at success when they
take AP courses, the report says.
In 2005, the National Governors' Association for Best Practices, launched an
AP expansion project as part of an initiative to improve high schools. Fifty-one
schools in 6 states (Wisconsin, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maine and Nevada)
received funding for pilot projects.
Among some of the schools' innovations:
- To expand access, Georgia schools asked AP students who were athletes and
cheerleaders to recruit new AP students
- Several schools used virtual learning technology to expand AP enrollment in
rural areas
- Many schools offered students an extra grade point for taking AP courses
- Kentucky offered college scholarship awards for low-income students based on
their AP Exam performance
- To build teacher capacity, Maine had a mentoring initiative for new teachers
and Wisconsin and Nevada had weeklong summer institutes for teachers.
"The 6th Annual AP Report to the Nation," College Board, February 10,
2010. Current research briefs
Teachers' social competence protects against burnout
How class size changes classroom dynamics
Students seldom choose self-testing as study strategy
More students taking AP, scoring 3 and above
Blog: Accentuating the positive is not easy
| 
