PROVIDENCE – A smaller share of Rhode Island public high school students who graduated last year took Advanced Placement exams compared to the nation as a whole, and those who did got lower scores, according to the College Board.
The number of Rhode Island students taking one of the tests, which often are accepted for college credit, continued to climb, mirroring a national trend, the New York-based nonprofit organization said.
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According to the College Board, 1,766 students in Rhode Island’s class of 2009, or 17.3 percent of the class, took at least one A.P. exam during high school, compared with 26.5 percent nationwide. That was up from the 1,555 students in the class of 2008 who took an A.P. test and 1,112 in the class of 2004.
However, the number of low-income students in Rhode Island taking an A.P. test slipped last year to 115, down from 124 in the class of 2008.
The organization said 10.7 percent of last year’s class – or 62 percent of A.P. test-takers – earned a passing score of 3, 4 or 5. That was up from the 9.5 percent who passed at least one the prior year, but lower than the 15.9 percent of students who did so nationwide.
“This positive trend is encouraging, and I commend students and educators for their hard work and success,” Gaston Caperton, president of the College Board, said in a statement. “Credit goes to educators at all levels and policymakers whose diligence has ensured more students are able to take AP courses and do well on the exams.”
The most common exam subject for Rhode Island students was social science, which includes tests on economics, history, politics, geography and psychology. Nearly 11 percent of the class of 2009 took a social science test, and 6 percent of the class scored a 3 or better in the subject.
The two English exams ranked second, with 7.4 percent of Rhode Island students taking one. Tests in four other subject areas – art, language, math and science – were also offered.
Art was the least popular, with less than 1 percent of seniors taking an exam in the subject.
Additional information is available at collegeboard.com.
