Advanced Placement Successes Increase in Maryland Schools

As a former AP student, it makes me glad to see the program doing well in Maryland. 22 percent of Maryland students are scoring "mastery level" on AP tests. Thats 22% of students who will save money on college credits, and who are in many cases much more prepared for a college workload.

This is a victory for public schools in Maryland. Students are not only getting a quality education, but many are receiving free, top quality, college prep classes in the form of AP instruction. Often the teachers for these programs are the best a school has to offer, and they give students a view into what college may be like.

Even better:

The College Board recognized Maryland for dramatically increasing AP participation among minority students and cited the state for increasing Latino participation to the point of eliminating the “equity gap.”

In Maryland’s 2006 graduating class, however, Latino representation in the AP was 6.0 percent —more than the proportion of Latinos, 5.5 percent, in the student population. Black students comprised 14.3 percent of the pool of students taking AP exams in Maryland, up from 14.1 percent last year. It is the eighth highest percentage in the nation.

The College Board’s Advanced Placement Program, which began in 1955, allows students to pursue college-level studies while still in high school. Students can choose from among 37 subject areas to demonstrate their knowledge of rigorous academic curriculum.

The new report gives special mention to Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Prince George’s County for having the largest number of African-American students scoring at college mastery levels in AP chemistry and AP physics.

Cheers to Maryland's AP program, something we can all be proud of.