February 7, 2006
O'Connell Applauds Great Gains Made on Advanced
Placement Tests by California Public School Students
SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell said Tuesday he is pleased that California public high school students scored exceptionally well in 2005 on Advanced Placement (AP) Exams, achieving an 8.6 percent increase over the year prior in the number of students earning a grade of 3 (the grade predictive of college success) or higher.
"These numbers are very encouraging because they show that an increased number of our high school students are taking more challenging courses and doing well in them," said O'Connell.
According to the College Board's Advanced Placement: Report to the Nation, 19.7 percent of California public school students in the class of 2005 demonstrated mastery on one or more AP exams while in high school, compared to 14.1 percent nationwide.
In addition, the number of California public school students taking AP exams in 2005 increased by 10.6 percent over the year prior to 182,610, and the number of AP exams taken by California public school students increased by 11.4 percent to 328,475.
The percentage of California's public school Latino students in the class of 2005 who took AP exams has grown to 30.4 percent. Latino students represent 35.5 percent of the student population in the state. California is expected to soon reach a significant milestone goal of seeing Latino student representation in AP courses outpace Latino student representation in non-AP courses.
The percentage of California's public school African American students in the class of 2005 who took AP exam grew to 3.5 percent, with a population representing 7.3 percent of the students in the state.
"While I applaud the progress students are making on the AP exams, we must eliminate barriers that restrict some students from access to AP courses in our state's high schools. By providing rigorous courses and academic support for all students, we will better prepare young people for success in college and the workplace," O'Connell said.
If you would like to learn more about the College Board's AP exam results, please visit: College Search [http://www.collegeboard.com/splash] (Outside Source).
