AP Course Enrollments Continue to Climb
More Wake County Public School System students are taking Advanced Placement (AP) courses than ever before.
AP courses afford high school students the opportunity to take college-level coursework. Many colleges and universities provide credit to students who earn a high score on the AP exams, which are offered by the College Board.
In the 2008-09 school year 16,180 students took AP classes – that’s more than the 14,779 students in the previous year. Participation in AP courses has grown steadily for years, and WCPSS AP exam scores have surpassed the corresponding state and the national figures each year since 1996-97. AP test scores for 2008-09 won’t be available until later this Fall.
Between 2003-04 and 2008-09, the size of Wake County’s high school population grew by about 29 percent. “During that same time, the number of AP course enrollments grew by 74 percent, suggesting that more students are now taking advantage of those higher-level course options,” said Brad McMillen, senior director of Evaluation and Research. “We’re always encouraged to see greater numbers of students taking these challenging courses,” McMillen said.
AP course participation increased across all student subgroups, including ethnic groups, limited English proficient students and economically disadvantaged students. Hispanic/Latino students, in particular, are taking AP courses at much higher rates than they have in the past.
In an effort to increase AP participation in all courses, the Preliminary SAT (PSAT) is now given in 10th grade instead of 11th grade. “We get their scores sooner now, so that allows us to identify which students would likely do well in AP courses a full year earlier,” said Ruth Steidinger, senior director of Secondary Education for High Schools. “That means students have many more opportunities to take these challenging AP classes, which we think is great,” she said.
All comprehensive high schools in the Wake County Public School System offer AP courses and exams, although the availability of specific courses varies from school to school. For more information about AP courses, contact your child’s school guidance counselor.