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Advanced Placement exam results released:
Washington student participation rates, scores jump
OLYMPIA - February 13, 2008 - More Washington students are taking Advanced Placement exams and are scoring higher on those exams, according to a national report released today.
The College Board’s fourth annual Advanced Placement Report to the Nation shows that 25,789 Washington public school students took at least one Advanced Placement (AP) exam in 2007, an increase of 10.7 percent from 2006.
A total of 24,776 students of Washington’s public schools scored a three or more — the score predictive of college success — on at least one AP exam in 2007. That represents an increase of 14.4 percent from 2006. The national increase in public school students scoring a three or more was 9.3 percent.
"Increasing participation and rising scores are measurable testaments to the great teaching and learning going on here in Washington," said state Superintendent of Public Instruction Terry Bergeson. "They tell us that if we raise expectations, students will rise to meet those expectations."
AP exams are given each May and many colleges and universities give incoming students college credit for qualifying scores. The College Board offers 37 AP exams ranging from U.S. history to French literature. The top score one can earn on an AP exam is five.
Participation in the tests was up among all ethnic groups, and all minority groups except African Americans saw an increase in the number of students achieving scores of three or more on at least one exam.
The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) is working to increase participation in AP courses and exams by minority and low-income students thanks to a number of U.S. Department of Education grants including:
- Rural School Initiative grants, awarded to 37 Washington school districts. The grants are providing $1.3 million from 2005-2008 to increase pre-AP and AP course and test offerings to minority and low-income students in rural schools.
- Fee reduction grants, which OSPI has received every year since 1999. The grants allow OSPI to reduce the $84 per-test fee to $5 for low-income students. In 2007, about 5,000 students benefited and that number is expected to increase in 2008.
- The National Math and Science Initiative Mentoring Advanced Placement (MAP) grant, awarded to Washington and six other states in 2007. The $13.2 million grant will allow OSPI to link business mentors with AP teachers and students, train teachers, expand existing programs and create future AP programs from 2008 to 2014.
"Washington educators, administrators and policymakers have made good progress in creating access to AP courses for underserved students," said College Board President Gaston Caperton. "The OSPI staff is to be commended for seeking and obtaining federal funds."
For more information, including state-by-state results, go to:
http://professionals.collegeboard.com/data-reports-research/ap/nation.
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