The report, “7th Annual AP Report to the Nation,” shows that the raw numbers of students taking at least one AP exam has grown from 432,343 for the Class of 2001 to 853,314 for the Class of 2010.
The number of students who scored a 3 or better on the exam has also grown, from 277,865 to 508,818 during the same years, although the overall percentage has dropped from just over 64 percent to just under 60 percent. A score of 3 means a student is “qualified” to receive college credit in that subject, although experts say colleges are increasingly requiring a score of 4 or better in order to earn college credit.
