Assessment

Number of Students Taking AP Science Exams Surges

By Liana Loewus — September 08, 2015 3 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Participation rates for Advanced Placement science exams—specifically physics and computer science—have risen sharply over the last year, according to data released last week by the College Board.

The number of students taking the physics test doubled between 2014 and 2015. The College Board, which administers the AP program, said that represents the largest annual growth in any AP course in the history of the program.

“These numbers for the AP Physics course blew my socks off and gave me hope for the country,” David Coleman, the president of the College Board, said in an Aug. 26 webinar for reporters.

From last year to this year, the algebra-based Physics B course was split into two courses, Physics 1 and Physics 2, so a strict comparison in participation rates is difficult. But about 93,500 students took the Physics B exam in 2014, and 174,000 took Physics 1 in 2015. Another 20,500 students took Physics 2 this year.

David L. Evans, the executive director of the National Science Teachers Association, was also pleased with the growth. “It’s certainly good news,” he said.

The new physics courses are more in line with the Next Generation Science Standards, the benchmarks that 15 states and the District of Columbia have adopted, according to Evans, and the changes “open physics up to a much wider pool of potential students.”

Even so, students tended to perform less well on the Physics 1 test than all other AP exams. Evans said that performance shouldn’t be a big concern for now, though, because the test and course focus are both new.

The percentage of female students and underrepresented minority students taking a physics test went up as well. Girls went from 34.7 percent of test-takers last year to 39.5 percent this year. Underrepresented minority students went from 17 percent of those tested to 20.5 percent.

Computer Science Growth

Computer science showed the second-largest one-year growth in participation, up about 25 percent, from 39,200 students last year to 49,000 students.

That growth is likely due to an increase in both interest and availability, said Evans.

Boys continue to dominate AP Computer Science A, making up about 78 percent of test-takers. The percentage of test-takers who were members of underrepresented minorities went up just half a percentage point, to 13 percent. State-by-state course demographic data will be available this fall.

The AP computer science exam has historically suffered from a diversity problem, with no female, African-American, or Hispanic students taking the test in some states over the years. The College Boardis trying to make the subject more accessible by introducing a new course, AP Computer Science Principles, that focuses on a broader range of computing skills and allows teachers to select the programming language they’d like to teach. It will debut in 2016.

The participation rates across all exams were up about 8 percent over the year as well, with 2.5 million students taking at least one AP exam in 2015.

The total number of exams administered went up from 4.2 million in 2014 to 4.5 million in 2015. (Many students take several AP exams.)

Demographic Breakdown

Generally, across the subject areas, boys continue to outnumber girls in AP science and math courses—with biology, environmental science, and statistics being exceptions. Girls outnumber boys more consistently in the language, literature, and art classes.

The percentage of test-takers who were underrepresented minority students (26 percent) and from low-income families (22 percent) increased negligibly over the year.

Advanced Placement U.S. History—despite being at the center of a controversy this year—continues to be the most-taken test, with nearly 470,000 participants.

All students taking an AP test receive a score on a scale of 1 to 5. About 60 percent of test-takers for all exams scored a 3 or higher—well enough to be awarded college credit in some places. Half as many African-American students as white students scored a 3 or higher on at least one AP exam.

For the U.S. History exam, which underwent an overhaul in 2014 (and then another more recently), about 51 percent of students scored a 3 or higher this year—about a percentage point lower than the scores before the exam changed.

A version of this article appeared in the September 09, 2015 edition of Education Week as Test-Taking Surged for AP Physics and Computer Science

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Special Education Webinar
Taking Action: Three Keys to an Effective Multitiered System to Supports
Join renowned intervention experts, Dr. Luis Cruz and Mike Mattos for a webinar on the 3 essential steps to MTSS success.
Content provided by Solution Tree
Recruitment & Retention Webinar Keep Talented Teachers and Improve Student Outcomes
Keep talented teachers and unlock student success with strategic planning based on insights from Apple Education and educational leaders. 
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Families & the Community Webinar
Family Engagement: The Foundation for a Strong School Year
Learn how family engagement promotes student success with insights from National PTA, AASA and leading districts and schools.  

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Assessment From Our Research Center It's Hard to Shift to Competency-Based Learning. These Strategies Can Help
Educators are interested in the model and supportive of some of its key components, even if largely unfamiliar with the practice.
6 min read
A collage of a faceless student sitting and writing in notebook with stacks of books, math equations, letter grades and numbers all around him.
Nadia Radic for Education Week
Assessment Explainer What Is Standards-Based Grading, and How Does It Work?
Schools can retool to make instruction more personalized and student-centered. But grading is a common sticking point.
11 min read
A collage of two faceless students sitting on an open book with a notebook and laptop. All around them are numbers, math symbols and pieces of an actual student transcript.
Nadia Radic for Education Week
Assessment Letter to the Editor Are Advanced Placement Exams Becoming Easier?
A letter to the editor reflects on changes to the College Board's Advanced Placement exams over the years.
1 min read
Education Week opinion letters submissions
Gwen Keraval for Education Week
Assessment Opinion ‘Fail Fast, Fail Often’: What a Tech-Bro Mantra Can Teach Us About Grading
I was tied to traditional grading practices—until I realized they didn’t reflect what I wanted students to learn: the power of failure.
Liz MacLauchlan
4 min read
Glowing light bulb among the crumpled papers of failed attempts
iStock/Getty + Education Week