Press Releases

The College Board Announces States' Results in the 2007 Advanced Placement Report to the Nation: A Larger Percentage of High School Graduates Achieve High AP^® Standards

02/06/07

Washington, D.C.—Almost 15 percent of public school graduates from the class of 2006 achieved during their high school years an AP^® Exam grade of 3 or better (the score predictive of college success ¹). This achievement represents a significant improvement since the class of 2000, when just 10 percent of public school graduates were achieving this result. The College Board, the not-for-profit membership association that administers the AP Program, released the third annual Advanced Placement Report to the Nation, which also showed that since 2000, all 50 states and the District of Columbia achieved an increase in the percentage of high school graduates that had earned an exam grade of 3 or higher on the college-level AP Exams.

The Report also highlights new independent research, which bolsters previous research findings that students who participate in AP have significantly better college grades and college graduation rates than academically and economically similar students who did not take the demanding courses and exams.

"Educators, administrators, and policymakers deserve tremendous credit for enabling a wider segment of our nation's youth than ever before to achieve success on an AP Exam," said College Board President Gaston Caperton. "After comparing students with similar academic and economic profiles, these new studies show that the students who also succeed on an AP Exam are better prepared for the rigors of college, and more likely to obtain a bachelor's degree. Because of such findings, we must do more to ensure that every student receives adequate preparation for rigorous courses like AP and those they will experience in college. Schools need to start preparing students as early as middle school so they are equipped to take on the challenges of AP courses once they get to high school."

Of the estimated 2.7 million students who graduated from U.S. public schools in 2006, 406,000 (14.8 percent) earned an AP Exam grade of 3 or higher on one or more AP Exams while in high school. This is up from 14.1 percent for the of 2005 and 10.2 percent for the of 2000.

New York, Maryland, Utah, Virginia, and California all saw more than 20 percent of their students graduate having earned an AP Exam grade of 3 or better. Massachusetts, Florida, and Connecticut are close to achieving this goal. AP achievements for each state's class of 2000 and class of 2006 are detailed in the report. (See 2007 Advanced Placement Report to the Nation, Table 1, page 7.)

With 75 percent of U.S. high school graduates entering college, ² it is clear that entrance to college is becoming more accessible. But high college dropout rates and the fact that about half of all college freshmen are taking at least one remedial course demonstrate that secondary schools need to do more than just help students gain admission to college. ³

"If we are to succeed in democratizing what really matters—completion of a college degree—the gap between high school graduation standards and freshman college course requirements must be eliminated," said Caperton.

New Research on AP and College Success

The Report highlights two new research studies from the state of Texas.

A new study conducted by University of Texas researchers Leslie Keng and Barbara Dodd finds that students who placed out of introductory college courses as a result of successful AP Exam grades earned higher college GPAs and took more credit hours in the subject area of their exam than non-AP students. The study followed four cohorts of entering freshmen (1998–2001) at the University of Texas at Austin and accounted for differences in the ability levels of the AP and non-AP students by matching high school rank and college admission test scores. (See 2007 Advanced Placement Report to the Nation, Figures 2 and 3, pages 12–13.)

Another new study by Texas researchers Linda Hargrove, Donn Godin, and Barbara Dodd followed five cohorts of students (1998–2002) who enrolled at any Texas public higher education institution after graduating from a Texas public high school. The study provides an extensive comparison of students' performances on several college outcomes—including first- and fourth-year grade point averages and four-year graduation status—in relation to the various types of AP and non-AP experiences they had in high school, aggregated across all AP subject areas. Results showed that students who had taken one or more AP courses and exams and students who had taken one or more AP courses but no exam significantly outperformed non-AP participants on all college outcomes in all years, after statistically controlling for SAT^® score and economic status. (See 2007 Advanced Placement Report to the Nation, Figure 4, page 13.)

Equity Gaps in AP

There has been increased diversity in AP classrooms, especially for Latino students. However, African American and American Indian/Alaska Native students remain significantly underrepresented in AP classrooms. In public schools nationwide, African American students make up 13.7 percent of the student population, but only 6.9 percent of AP Exam takers, and American Indian/Alaska Native make up 1.1 percent of the student population, but only 0.6 percent of the AP examinee population. (See 2007 Advanced Placement Report to the Nation, Figure 1, page 9.)

Latino students are well represented in AP classrooms nationally in public schools—they represent 14 percent of the student population and 14 percent of AP Examinees. However, Latino students remain underrepresented in AP programs in many states.

Despite the strides that have been made by educators to provide traditionally underrepresented students with AP courses, lower performances on AP Exams indicate that often these teachers and students are not receiving adequate preparation for the rigors of an AP course. As a result, traditionally underrepresented students currently demonstrate significantly lower performances on AP Exams. (See 2007 Advanced Placement Report to the Nation, Appendix B, pages 84–87 for AP Exam grades by race/ethnicity for each subject area.)

"Florida is one state that has dramatically expanded AP participation and improved performance among Latino students," said Caperton. "In Florida, the percentage of AP students who are Latino actually exceeds the percentage of students that are Latino in the population."

Florida has used state funding to provide teacher professional development, and uses PSAT/NMSQT^® scores to identify and encourage "diamond in the rough" students to try the challenge of an AP course. The state also rewards schools and teachers for each additional student they help to achieve a score of 3 or higher on an AP Exam.

New Developments in the AP Program

The 2007 Advanced Placement Report to the Nation highlights some of the newest developments in the AP Program. These include:

The AP Course Audit

The College Board has implemented an AP Course Audit designed to ensure that each course labeled "AP" provides students with the content knowledge and resources needed for them to have a successful college-level experience while still in high school. The AP Course Audit was created at the request of secondary school and college members of the College Board who sought a means for the College Board to provide teachers and administrators with clear guidelines on curricular and resource requirements that must be in place for AP courses; and to help colleges and universities better interpret secondary school courses marked "AP" on students' transcripts.

More information about the AP Course Audit can be found at http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/courseaudit.

Chinese Language and Culture Initiatives

To address the gaps between the desire to offer Chinese language courses and the current capabilities in U.S. schools, the College Board and China's Office of Chinese Language Council International (Hanban) formed a historic partnership and developed a five-year plan to support the growth of Chinese language instruction in U.S. schools and to build a solid foundation for the AP Chinese program. More information about programs offered through the initiative to serve schools, teachers, and students can be found at www.collegeboard.com/k12chinese.

AP Courses and Exams in Chinese Language and Culture and Japanese Language and Culture

The 2006-07 school year saw the launch of the first AP courses in Chinese and Japanese. The introduction of these two new AP courses is an important step in the commitment by the College Board to further multiculturalism and multilingualism in secondary school education. When announcing these new AP courses, College Board President Gaston Caperton stated, "World events make it ever more obvious that a broad knowledge and understanding of other languages and cultures is essential for our young people." These new AP courses were designed by task forces comprised of renowned college faculty and master secondary school teachers of Chinese and Japanese.

Celebrating Exemplary AP High Schools

Part II of the 2007 Advanced Placement Report to the Nation uses data from all schools participating in AP nationwide to identify schools currently leading in AP participation and performance. This year California, Florida, New York, and Texas have the most schools (public and independent) cited in the Report. Cypress Bay High School in Weston, Florida, and Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia, are each cited five times in the Report, more than any other school in the country.

Part II also includes feedback on student learning from past AP Exams so AP teachers and administrators can revise and refocus their syllabi to address weaknesses or deficiencies in their curricula.

The College Board's Advanced Placement Program^® enables students to pursue college-level studies while still in high school. Thirty-seven courses in 22 subject areas are offered. Based on their performance on rigorous AP Exams, all of which require students to craft written responses to open-ended questions that are scored by current college faculty and AP consultants, students can earn credit, advanced placement, or both for college. More than 3,600 colleges and universities around the world recognize AP for credit, placement, and/or admissions decisions, including more than 90 percent of U.S. and Canadian colleges and universities.

¹ Each AP Exam is scored using a five-point scale: 5—Extremely well qualified; 4—Well qualified; 3—Qualified; 2—Possibly qualified; 1—No recommendation.

² Kati Haycock, "Closing the Achievement Gap," Educational Leadership (2001), Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

³ "Preparing Students for Success in College," Policy Matters (2005), American Association of State Colleges and Universities.

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