Higher Rates of Students Passing AP Exams

The proportion of each high school graduating class that passes an Advanced Placement exam continues to grow, with nearly 17 percent of the class of 2010 passing at least one such exam, according to a College Board report released today.

New figures show that 16.9 percent of students in last spring’s graduating class scored a 3 or better on one or more AP exams by the time they graduated, up from 15.9 percent in 2009 and 10.8 percent in 2001. The exam is scored on a scale of 1 to 5, with 3 considered passing. The College Board’s research says that students who score 3 or higher are more likely to succeed in college courses.

Of the 3 million students in last year’s graduating class, 28.3 percent took an AP exam sometime in high school, up from 26.4 percent in 2009 and...