AP Scores on the Rise Nation-Wide
APSCORES
Bangor Daily News
Carlene Olsen
Boston University Washington News Service
2/12/06
WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 – Students in Maine and across the country improved their performance on Advanced Placement exams last year, leading an increasing number to graduate high school with college credit, according to a report released last week.
AP classes enable high school students to earn college credit in 37 subject areas, with many colleges offering credit for exam scores of 3 or higher out of a possible 5. The courses span the academic year and culminate with an exam in May.
Kimberly Johnston, senior associate director of admissions at the University of Maine, said the university typically awards credit for scores of 3 or above, though standards vary depending on the course.
“AP courses are part of what we consider when we’re looking at the rigor of a student’s curriculum,” Johnston said. “But, we certainly do not require any [AP course work].”
In Maine last year, 3,048 members of the 2006 class took an AP exam while in high school, up from 1,809 in 2000, according to a report released last week by The College Board, a non-profit association focused on college admissions and exams.
In 2006 in Maine, 14.4 percent earned a score of 3 or higher on exams during their high school career, whereas in 2000 only 10.1 percent scored 3 or higher. Nationwide in 2006, 14.8 percent earned a score of 3 or higher.
“All 50 states and the District of Columbia increased the percentage of students who succeeded in AP courses,” Gaston Caperton, president of The College Board, said at a press conference.
Currently, 112 public high schools out of 123 in Maine offer the advanced courses, said David Connerty-Marin, communications director for the Maine Department of Education.
In 2006, the state eliminated the existing equity gap among American Indian students taking AP exams, a goal previously accomplished among the Hispanic student population in 2000 and again last year.
However, AP participation among black students remains below the national average, according to data from the Maine Department of Education.
Phil Pratt, associate director of institutional studies at the University of Maine, said the number of students who entered the university with sophomore standing rose from 2005 to 2006 due to AP credit and other college course-work.
“In the fall of 2005, we had 19 new first-time freshmen who were able to start as sophomores,” Pratt said, “In the fall of 2006, that number grew to 28 [students].”
About 20 percent of the university’s first-year students entered the school with some form of AP credit last year, he said.
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