Participation & Achievement on AP Tests Is Up

The number of Virginia public school students who took at least one AP test increased by 6.8 percent in 2009 and the number of tests taken increased by 6.9 percent. Of the 57,928 Virginia public school students who took AP tests, 62.8 percent earned a grade of 3 or higher, and the number of AP examinations earning grades of 3-5 increased by 10 percent.

The College Board’s February 2009 Advanced Placement Report to the Nation ranked Virginia third in achievement on AP examinations. The College Board will use the AP data released today to update its state rankings early next year.

The number of black AP test takers increased by 17 percent in 2009 to 6,221. Black public school students took 9,470 examinations — an 18.6 percent increase and the number of tests earning a grade of 3-5 increased by 19.5 percent.

The number of Hispanic AP test takers increased by 12 percent to 3,469. Hispanic public school students took 5,838 examinations — a 14.5 percent increase, and the number of tests earning a grade of 3-5 increased by 16.7 percent.

Since 2005, the number of black public school students in the commonwealth participating in AP testing has increased by 86.1 percent, and the number of Hispanic students taking AP tests has increased by 78.4 percent.

Increasing the number of high school students who successfully complete college-level courses is one of the Board of Education’s goals for promoting excellence in public education. Virginia encourages participation in AP courses through the Virtual Virginia online academy and the Early College Scholars Program.