AP Test Results Go Down
Advanced Placement Test (AP) results are going down every year despite the fact that more and more students take the tests after finishing High School.
Education Week reports that according to the data released by the New York City-based nonprofit organization, about 15 percent of High School graduates are getting a 3 out of possible 5.
The mean score of the nearly 2 million AP exams taken by students in last year’s graduating class was 2.83, down from 2.9 in 2004.
According to College Board Fourth Annual Press Release, out of all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia and Vermont captured the largest increase in the percentage of high school graduates who had scored a 3 or higher on an AP Exam.
Earning a 3 or higher on an AP Exam is one of “the very best predictors of college performance,”2 with AP students earning higher college grades and graduating from college at higher rates than otherwise similar peers in control groups, according to recent reports from researchers at the University of California at Berkeley, 3 the National Center for Educational Accountability,4 and the University of Texas at Austin.
Falling test scores are the main concern of the College Board Organization and its spokesperson, Jennifer Topiel, sees a direct tie between the lower test scores and the increasing number of test-takers. Education Week quotes Topiel.
“That happens. Any psychometrician can tell you that as participation grows, scores go down. We feel very strongly that students should not be placed into AP classes without better preparation.”
Photo: © antimony funk!
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