At Narragansett High School, students as young as freshmen are stepping into college-level classrooms, tackling Advanced Placement courses that just a decade ago few might have imagined attempting.
That push for early access is paying off: since 2016, AP participation at Narragansett has surged at a faster rate than any other school district in Rhode Island.
“This isn’t something that just happened overnight,” said Narragansett Schools Superintendent Peter Cummings.
Narragansett may have the fastest growth, but it’s certainly not the only district in the state where Advanced Placement courses and exams are becoming much more commonplace.
In fact, Rhode Island led the nation in the growth of high school students who are now taking Advanced Placement courses compared with a decade ago, according to a recent study released by the College Board, the nonprofit that conducts standardized AP exams.
The College Board says that 39.2% of Rhode Island’s Class of 2025 took at least one AP exam during high school, up from 28.8% 10 years earlier. That 10.4 percentage-point jump was the highest in the nation.
R.I. Education Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green thinks a lot of it is the result of an educational culture shift that’s taken hold statewide.
“The students are showing they are competitive. They want to learn more,” she said. “They see the rigor, and they rise to it.”
That shift in mindset has extended statewide, she said.
Even districts that have traditionally ranked low in terms of AP participation, such as Providence, have doubled the number of students taking AP exams in the last two years, with a significant increase in qualifying scores, education officials say.
Rhode Island’s 39.2% participation rate is ahead of the national average of 37%, but it still ranks behind the Distric of Columbia and 11 other states, including Massachusetts (48%) and Connecticut (41.7%).
Why does it all matter? Advanced Placement courses and exams give high school students advantages academically, financially and for college admissions.
Students who score well on AP exams after taking high-level high school courses in subjects such as English, math, science and history can earn college credits before attending college, saving tuition money. AP courses can also strengthen college applications.
Gregory Ebner, the state’s assistant commissioner for academics and student affairs, said that taking an AP class in high school already sets a student apart.
“It gives them a leg up before they even step on campus,” he said.
Last year, more than 2,900 students earned college credit through AP exams at the state’s public colleges, said Ebner, including 1,162 students at Rhode Island College, 600 at the Community College of Rhode Island and more than 1,100 at the University of Rhode Island.
AP exams are graded on a 1-5 scale. Most colleges give credits for scores of 5 or 4, while the state’s public colleges accept AP scores of 3 or better.
“We have students graduating high school with an associate’s degree in their back pocket because of AP, dual, and concurrent courses,” Ebner said.
A key part of the effort that led to Rhode Island’s growth in AP participation has been expanding access across districts, ensuring opportunities aren’t limited to higher-performing or better-resourced schools. State leaders say the goal is to make advanced coursework a realistic option for any student willing to take on the challenge.
Stephen Osborn, student opportunity officer at the R.I. Department of Education, said the COVID-19 pandemic created an opportunity to accelerate that work.
“We provided some AP courses for students across the state who didn’t have access in their home districts,” he said. “Kids got excited. They started competing, and that momentum has continued.”
High school students can also participate in dual enrollment with the support of the state’s three public colleges, where students can take college-level classes and earn credits at those colleges.
“Students don’t pay for AP, dual, or concurrent courses here. It’s about learning, not the price tag,” Infante-Green said.
And the state didn’t just push schools to expand AP: it backed that push with funding and support, according to officials. Since 2021, the General Assembly has funded the $99 cost per AP exam for low-income students.
At the same time, RIDE has expanded professional development opportunities for teachers to support the growth in AP courses, offering teachers weeklong programs in AP computer science, AP business, and AP seminar, Ebner said.
That investment in both students and educators has helped sustain growth even amid broader challenges, he said, including staffing shortages and learning disruptions in recent years.
“Rhode Island is showing what’s possible,” Infante-Green said. “Other states can look at what we’re doing – from AP expansion to dual enrollment and accountability systems – and see that thoughtful, deliberate strategies make a real difference for students.”
