Nearly 15 percent of the public high school graduates in the class of 2006 scored a 3 or better on an Advanced Placement exam, up from 10 percent in 2000, the College Board reported last week.
New York state had the most graduates who had earned a 3 or better out of a possible 5 on an AP exam, followed by Maryland, Utah, Virginia, and California. All five states had more than 20 percent of students graduated, according to the New York City-based organization, which sponsors the program.
Nationally, the report found, Latino students are well represented in AP classrooms, making up 14 percent of the student population in high schools nationwide and 14 percent of AP examinees. But in many states, they are underrepresented in the program. African-American and American Indian/Alaska Native students are “significantly underpresented” in the program, while Asian-American students make up 5.5 percent of the student population but 10.8 percent of the examinees.
Gaston Caperton, the president of the College Board, credited educators, administrators, and policymakers for enabling a wider segment of students to participate in Advanced Placement and called on schools to begin preparing students as early as middle school for the challenge of AP classes in high school.
Further information on the College Board’s “2007 Advanced Placement Report to the Nation” is available.
