Lake Oswego high schoolers see jump in AP test results

This article has been updated from its original version.

Advanced Placement tests are a source of pride and stress for many high school students.

These courses take high schoolers through college-level curriculum, culminating in AP tests at the end of the year. Universities will accept scores of 3 or above for either advanced placement in higher-level classes or as credit toward graduation.

During the 2023-24 school year, 89% of Lake Oswego School District AP students received a score of 3 or higher — the highest share of students since the 2019-20 school year (when some classes were held online during the pandemic).

The number of students taking AP tests also lept from 1,679 in 2019-20 to 2,070 in 2023-24.

“This is outstanding data. This is the best data we’ve had since COVID, of the last six years,” said assistant superintendent Lou Bailey, during a Monday, Sept. 23 school board meeting.

Lake Oswego’s high school enrollment was 2,473 students in 2023-24, which means 84% of all Lake Oswego high schoolers took an AP exam. Of the students who took an AP exam, 28% received 5, the highest possible score on the test.

For math, science and English tests, Lake Oswego high schoolers also saw improvements in their scores. Mean scores for English Literature, Calculus BC, Statistics, Biology and Environmental Science all improved between 2022-23 and 2023-24.