Vol. 40, No. 34
CONTACT: JIM MORRIS |
August 29 , 2006
Missouri Students Keep Signing Up for More
Advanced Placement Classes; Stay Ahead of National SAT Averages
The number of Missouri students taking "Advanced Placement" (AP) courses during the past year rose to 11,500 – an increase of nearly 10 percent over 2005. Participation in the AP program has been growing at a strong, steady pace for the past decade, a trend which state education officials applaud.
According to statistics released today by The College Board and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, 11,501 members of the Class of 2006 in Missouri took the final exam in at least one "AP" class. Ten years ago, the number of AP students in Missouri was about 4,300.
The Advanced Placement program allows students in public and private high schools to take college-level courses in subjects ranging from calculus to Latin. Students earn credit toward their high school diplomas, and many universities grant college credit based on a student’s AP exam scores.
At the end of the year, students may take a final course exam which is published and scored by the New York-based College Board. The same exam is given to students nationwide.
State education officials noted that the number of African-American students taking AP courses in Missouri increased sharply this year – up 57% to 616.
"Advanced Placement courses offer rigorous academic preparation for high school students, which can help prepare all students for success in college. We need to be preparing and encouraging more students in general, and more minority students in particular, to take advantage of the AP option," said Stan Johnson, assistant commissioner for the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
Writing Test Debuts in SAT Exam
The College Board also released state and national results today for the SAT Reasoning Test, a popular college-entry exam. This year, for the first time, the results included a mandatory writing exam for most students.
In Missouri 4,266 member of the Class of 2006 took the SAT, a decline of about three percent from the previous year. Almost 1.5 million students took the test across the nation.
The average score for Missouri students on the math portion of the SAT increased by three points, to 591. The average math score for the nation dropped by two points this year, to 518.
On the "critical reading" subtest (formerly known as the "verbal" section) Missouri’s average score declined by one point, to 587. This score, however, is 84 points higher than the national average, which dropped by five points this year.
On the new writing section of the SAT, Missouri students posted an average score of 582 – 85 points higher than the national average of 497.
This year, seven percent of all high school graduates in Missouri took the SAT.