State sees more students taking – and scoring well – on AP tests

AP participation and scores increased in the First State this year. (Photo from Winward Academy)

Delaware schools this past spring showed a double-digit percentage increase in both the number of Advanced Placement (AP) tests taken and the number of students taking them.

Students took 12,731 exams in May 2023, representing a 16.6% increase from the prior year, with 738 additional students – 11.3% more – taking AP exams.

“Red Clay’s Strategic Plan has prioritized students participating in college-level coursework opportunities, particularly those in underrepresented subgroups,” said Mark Pruitt, director of secondary education at Red Clay Consolidated School District .

Pruitt said one of the district’s initiatives that paid off was its decision to offer AP Seminar to all 10th grade students. AP Seminar is an interdisciplinary course that encourages students to demonstrate critical thinking, collaboration, and academic research skills on topics of the student’s choosing.

“This year’s efforts yielded a 79% increase in students taking the course and a 52% increase – 64 students –  in the number of students passing the course,” Pruitt said. “The AP Seminar is an access course that will also result in those students taking more college-level courses and earning those credits in future years.”

Advanced Placement courses allow students to engage in college-level learning while in high school, said Mark Holodick, Delaware Secretary of Education.

The boost is even greater for historically underserved students.

Black student participation rose by 19.7%, while Hispanic students’ participation increased by 17.4%.

“These numbers reflect our concerted efforts to expand access to all students, making sure that AP classes are available and achievable for all students across the state,” Holodick said.

Outside of the rigorous content of the advanced courses, achieving a good score on the AP exam can help earn students college credits.

House Bill 116 also was signed into law in February, which requires public Delaware colleges and universities to grant credit for AP exam scores of 3 or higher.

While colleges and universities differ in what score they’ll accept for college credit, most take a score of 4 or 5 (out of 5), and about half accept scores of 3 or higher.

From 2023 to 2024, there was a 27.9% increase in the number of students scoring 3 or higher on their AP exams.

This year, 58.4% of all AP exams taken by Delaware students earned a score of 3 or higher.

Black and Hispanic students had gains of 51.5% and 31.3%, respectively, in scores of 3 or higher.

464 of 1,132 (40.9%) of Black students passed the exam, compared to 327 of 946 (34.5%) last year, and 589 of 1,109 (53.1%) of Hispanic students passed the exam this year compared to 468 of 945 (49.5%) last year.

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AP exams are typically administered in May.

The increase in participation and performance on the tests has many benefits, Holodick said.

While each AP exam costs $98 to take, it can definitely save students money long term.

Since 2017, the Delaware Department of Education has reduced the cost for low-income students  to just $5 per test to eliminate financial barriers.

“Students who score well on the AP exams start their college careers ahead of the game, already with college credits,” Holodick said. “This can save them thousands of dollars in tuition as well as allowing them to move into more advanced college courses to help them graduate sooner.”

The Delaware Department of Education has made a concerted effort to encourage AP participation and exam success.

This includes providing stronger professional development opportunities for AP teachers and coordinators, and ensuring educators are well-equipped to support students.

“You have to be licensed and certified to teach in K12 schools,” said Alison May, public information officer at the state education department. “We do have alternative routes to certification that a career-changing prospective educator could pursue.”

For more information on alternative routes to certification, click here .

Neither the state nor the school districts provided info on the extent to which they’re hiring non-educators to teach these classes, even at a time when there are teacher shortages across the state.

Appoquinimink School District (Appo) offers students a variety of advanced standing course opportunities, with more than 30 AP courses each year.

The district continually evaluates if there are additional courses it should add to its course catalog, said Nick Hoover, director of secondary curriculum, instruction, and assessment at Appo.

“We also have dual enrollment courses and articulated courses that provide students the opportunity to earn college credit while in high school,” he said. “In our district, increased AP enrollment reflects how we embed Advanced Placement courses into the curriculum, particularly for our ninth-grade students who take AP Human Geography as part of the coursework.”

There’s been a steady increase in participation at Appo.

In 2022, 1,245 AP exams were taken throughout the district. That number increased to 1,839 in 2023 and 2,183 this year.

Efforts to reach five other school districts in Delaware this week for comment and data on AP participation were unsuccessful.