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From the Desk of Bill Cirone...
October 8, 1999
AP Students Score High
While California high school seniors scored slightly lower this year than last on the math portion of the Scholastic Aptitude Test, high-achieving students are taking and passing Advanced Placement tests in greater numbers than ever before.
Last year's passing rate tripled the figure for 1985.
Nearly 15 out of every hundred juniors and seniors taking AP tests earned passing scores in 18 subjects, including calculus, U.S. and European history, French and English literature, physics, and Spanish.
The College Board sponsors the AP program. Students who receive a passing score don't have to take these subjects in college and they get college credits on their transcripts.
This year's passing rate of 15 was up from 13.4 last year. In 1985, only 4.1 of every 100 students passed AP exams. Nationally, the figure this year is 9.1, well below the California level for passing.
Interestingly, the higher scores were posted across all ethnic groups. Since 1985, the passing rate of Latinos increased from 1.2 to 7.7; African Americans from 0.5 to 2.3; Asians from 9.0 to 41.8; and American Indians from 1.5 to 6.2.
Though the SAT results are not as dramatic they are still confirmation that many California students are well prepared for higher education. In the last academic year, 42 percent of high school seniors in California took the SAT test, earning an average combined math and verbal score of 1011. In 1971, California students earned an average combined score of 1057, but only 30 percent of the state's seniors took the test.
"The leveling off is not unexpected when you have a larger pool of students taking the test," said State Superintendent Delaine Eastin. "And California has more non-native English speakers taking the SAT: 19 percent, compared to 8 percent nationally.
Though SAT scores declined two points in math this year to 514, California student scores were still three points higher than those of their counterparts across the country. The average verbal scores remained unchanged at 497.
(Note: Local AP and SAT scores are available from individual school districts.)
© Santa Barbara County Education Office
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