Maryland ranks No. 1 in the nation for students passing Advanced Placement exams: ...Across the state, 26.4 percent of 2010 graduates received a 3 or better on at least one AP exam during their high school careers, higher than New York, with 24.6 percent, or Virginia, Connecticut and Massachusetts, all with a 23 percent pass rate. Mississippi had a pass rate of 4.4 percent, the lowest in the nation.
'I think Maryland has done better because we have really focused on preparing teachers and ensuring that we have AP offerings in our schools,' state school Superintendent Nancy Grasmick said.
The College Board highlighted the state's effort to prepare more students, starting as early as middle school, to take courses that push them to think more critically.
Maryland also leads the nation in improvement for African American high school graduates who passed Advanced Placement exams, but the achievement gaps between black achievers and their peers remain vast. African Americans in the state still represent a small percentage of those who pass the tests.
One in 10 students who had passed an AP test were African American, in a state where blacks represent more than one-third of the graduates each year.
