More Students Taking AP Exams, But Pass Rates Remain Low
The gross number of students taking and passing AP exams has increased over the past ten years, but overall pass rates are low.
Not to mention that over the past ten years AP exams have become much easier to pass because of all the review books and free online tutorials available.
From U.S. News & World Report:
College Board: AP Exam Pass Rate Nearly Doubles in 10 Years
More minority and low-income students are taking and passing Advanced Placement exams, the College Board announced on Tuesday.
But the numbers aren’t yet cause for celebration. Just more than 1 in 5 high school juniors and seniors nationwide (nearly 1.5 million students) took an AP exam in 2014, and just more than 1 in 8 received a passing score on any exam. Still, those numbers have doubled since 2004, when 12 percent of 11th and 12th grade students took AP exams, and 7.6 percent passed.
Notably, however, the College Board found Hispanic students are taking AP exams at almost the same rate as the nation overall: 19.1 percent of Hispanic high school junior and seniors took an AP exam in 2014, compared with 21.9 percent nationwide. The participation rate has also increased among students who use fee reductions provided by the College Board, an indication that more low income students are participating in AP programs. In 2014, 24 percent of test-takers used a fee reduction, compared with 11.8 percent in 2004.
“The College Board remains committed to ensuring all students with the potential to succeed in AP courses are able to access those opportunities,” said Trevor Packer, senior vice president for AP and Instruction at the College Board, in a statement. “Research clearly shows that challenging coursework in high school is a vital component in helping students succeed as they transition to college and beyond.
College Board: AP Exam Pass Rate Nearly Doubles in 10 Years (U.S. News & World Report)
Comments
My children both took AP classes in high school; neither one took the AP exams for one reason: they dual-enrolled and got 6 college credits for EACH of the classes instead.
When you weigh the costs (AP exam fees are about $100 per test) with dual-enrolling in our county (about $150-$200 per AP class), and factor that IF they pass the AP exam, they only get 1 or 2 college credits……….. Well, it doesn’t take a math genius to figure out that the cost/benefit for dual-enrolling far exceeds that for taking the AP exam!
The semester grade the high school student gets is their dual-enrolled college semester grade. So, they earn three credits per semester in the AP class, six college credits for the year – fully transferable – at the cost of $200 for ALL SIX CREDITS. That would cost at least $2500 – at best – at a university, and at least $200 PER CREDIT at a community college.
Given the above, and what CollegeBoard.com is doing to the AP exams (see the APUSH controversy for more on that), why would ANYONE take the AP exams?!
It truly makes no sense.
Added benefit: you don’t have to go to those leftist lib classes at the university, and pay through the nose to earn the same credits. Your high school teachers, in the schools (for the most part) teach you……..and the parent(s) can monitor the instruction for leftist propaganda. Win/win!!
Even though AP exams have gotten much easier, they are still more difficult than the non-AP equivalent. Further, your exam score is still some measure of your intelligence relative to peers across the country and world, albeit a less meaningful one nowadays.