The number of students taking Advanced Placement (AP) exams has been on the rise for the last five years in Washington, and their scores are also on the rise too, according to the 2009 AP Report to the Nation. Washington placed as one of the nation’s top five states with the largest increase of A.P exam scores of a three or higher (the score needed to earn college credit), since 2003. A.P exams are scored from 1-5, and a score of three or higher, in most cases, means college credit.
 
Many college professors have a shared concern that students are not ready for college-level work, so the increase in A.P exam performance is good news.

However, the news is bittersweet. Despite Washington ranking 17th overall in the nation for the greatest number of 12th graders scoring three or greater on AP exams, it shows African Americans are significantly underrepresented. African American students made up 4.5 % of the high school class of 2008 in Washington, however only 1.5% of these students scored a three or higher on the A.P exams.  

Could our overall ranking and the participation of minority students have been even higher if we had taken the $13 million grant offered to WA last year by the National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) to boost AP participation, particularly for underrepresented students, and strengthen professional development for AP teachers?  The experience of another state that did take a NMSI grant –Alabama- suggests yes, as the achievement gap between black and white high school students on Advanced Placement exams is closing faster in Alabama than in any other state.

Washington State Superintendent Randy Dorn said, “This shows that as we continue to open access to A.P classes, students will step up to meet rigorous standards.” Dorn said students need to achieve higher academic skills in order to compete in a world economy, which we definitely agree with.

Dorn said Washington’s best chance to increase access to A.P class enrollment is through Career and Technical Education.  While this may be one strategy, we don’t believe it’s the only one. 

Most certainly, we hope Mr. Dorn will support future opportunities to get much-needed AP professional development support and try the innovative strategies being successfully pursued by other states.