Preparation for College:
Advanced Placement Exams

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Advanced Placement Exams

Why is this important?

Advanced Placement Exam Scores of 3 or better are typically accepted by colleges and universities for course credit. This allows high school students to get a jump start on their college education and helps to prepare students for the important transition.

What are the policy implications?

The rate at which high school students achieve the AP Exam scores needed for college credit is a good indicator of how well they are prepared for college-level work. However, it's also important that state systems of secondary education provide ample access to AP courses. States can perform well on the percentage of students scoring "3 or above" on advanced placement exams because the access to these courses is limited to relatively few students in high achieving schools.

Other factors to consider:

For the above reasons, it is important to look at both the performance on AP exams and the percentage of students taking the AP exams.

Advanced Placement Exams

It also would be useful to look within your state system of secondary education to determine the equity of access to AP courses across high schools, income-levels, race, etc. (not available on this website).

Data sources and related links:

Measuring Up: The State-by-State Report Card