Maryland second in AP scores; Virginia school on top - The Washington Times: Nation/Politics - January 26, 2005
"Significant performance gaps between white, Asian and traditionally underserved minority students call for ongoing efforts to invest in the preparation of students in their middle school and early high school years, helping them sequentially develop the skills and content mastery needed to succeed in the college-level AP courses," the report said.
Black students comprise just 6 percent of all AP students nationally, although they are 13.2 percent of the total student population. Hispanics, representing about 13 percent of all students, are also about 13 percent of students in AP classes. Asians, with 5 percent of the student population, have twice that percentage in AP. Whites, 68 percent of all students nationally, represent 65 percent of AP participants.
Asians led all students in academic performance with a mean grade of 3.04 on AP exams last year, the report said. Whites scored a mean grade of 2.99, Latinos 2.6, and blacks 2.03 — almost a full point below the national average of 2.9.
"Efforts of states are paying off," the report said. "Thousands more African-American, Latino, and Native American students demonstrated college-level mastery of AP courses in 2004 than were doing so four and eight years ago."
But although Hispanic students are making big strides in both participation and performance, less than half of all black high school students in 41 states are taking AP courses, the report says.
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