North Carolina students set a record high for Advanced Placement exam scores and participation last school year.
The state is outpacing the national average.
Officials with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction celebrated the news at a press conference this week.
Seventy-two percent of all the AP exams taken were scored a 3 or higher, meaning they qualify for college credit. That’s a 21% increase from last year.
And in the Alamance-Burlington School System, the number of qualifying scores more than doubled. Superintendent Aaron Fleming said AP participation is also at an all-time high in the district. He attributes the growth in part to a recent course decision.
“We’ve made a deliberate move to offer pre-calculus only as an AP course, eliminating the honors option," Fleming said. "This has successfully given students who hadn’t previously taken an AP course a chance to experience and succeed in a rigorous academic environment.”
He says the addition of courses like AP Seminar and African American Studies also opened doors to even more students.