Secretary of Education Says Higher Standards Key to Reversing Slide in AP Achievement
RICHMOND — Secretary of Education Aimee Guidera said today that higher standards for students and schools are necessary to reverse a nearly decade-long decline in the performance of Virginia students on Advanced Placement examinations. She also pledged that the Virginia Department of Education will work with school divisions to better prepare students for college-level courses and tests.
According to the College Board’s latest report on AP performance, the percentage of Virginia graduates qualifying for college credit on at least one AP examination during their high school careers has fallen to 11th in the nation. The commonwealth tied for ninth in the nation in AP performance in last year’s College Board report and ranked third in 2015.
“Virginia’s 2021-2022 AP results are yet another sad reminder that when previous Administrations lowered expectations, Virginia’s children suffer,” Guidera said. “The commonwealth must reverse the declines in the AP scores that have occurred over the last 10 years by restoring rigor and celebrating the achievements of our students. I will be working with Dr. Lisa Coons, our incoming superintendent of public instruction, on creating a strategy to restore the performance of Virginia’s students in advanced courses and expanding opportunities for students to pursue rigorous academic courses. We must raise the floor and the ceiling for Virginia’s students.”
The College Board reported that 25.2% of 2022 graduating Virginia seniors earned a score of three or higher on at least one AP test, a nearly two-point decline compared to the achievement of 2021 graduates —26.9% of whom earned qualifying scores — and a 5.2% decline compared with the 30% of 2014 graduates who earned qualifying scores.
Disaggregated by student group, the percentages of 2022 Virginia graduates who earned a qualifying score on at least one AP examination during high school are as follows:
- Asian students: 53.7%.
- American Indian students: 28.2%.
- Black students: 8.5%.
- Hispanic students: 20.0%.
- White students: 27.1%.
Although colleges and universities set their own policies for awarding credit, a score of three or higher on an AP test is generally accepted as indicative of college-level work.
Virginia students (including non-public school students) earned qualifying scores on 92,142 AP examinations in 2022. According to the College Board, this represents 276,426 potential college credits. At an average cost of $486.00 per college credit, the College Board estimates the potential cost savings for Virginia students and families was $134,343,036.
The 10 most popular AP courses among Virginia’s 2022 graduating seniors were — in descending order — English Language and Composition, U.S. History, U.S. Government and Politics, Psychology, World History: Modern, English Literature and Composition, Calculus AB, Environmental Science, Biology and Statistics.
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