Table 14b. Mean grade and percentage distribution of grades on Advanced Placement (AP) exams, by subject and race/ethnicity: 2008

Status and Trends in the Education of Racial and Ethnic Minorities

NCES 2010-015
July 2010

List of Tables

Download Excel Excel format

(32 KB)

Table 14b.

Mean grade and percentage distribution of grades on Advanced Placement (AP) exams, by subject and race/ethnicity: 2008

Subject and race/ethnicity	Mean grade	Grade
Subject and race/ethnicity	Mean grade	5	4	3	2	1
All exams, Total¹	2.83	13.9	19.3	24.2	21.5	21.1
White	2.96	14.4	21.4	26.5	21.2	16.4
Black	1.91	3.1	7.5	15.2	25.6	48.5
Hispanic	2.42	9.8	13.9	18.8	23.6	33.9
Asian/Asian American	3.08	20.3	20.9	22.9	18.6	17.3
American Indian/Alaska Native	2.39	6.0	13.6	23.1	28.2	29.2

Calculus AB, Total¹	3.01	21.6	21.1	17.9	15.3	24.0
White	3.14	23.1	22.8	18.9	15.4	19.8
Black	2.00	6.5	10.8	13.1	15.2	54.4
Hispanic	2.28	9.9	13.9	14.9	16.6	44.7
Asian/Asian American	3.23	27.1	21.8	17.3	14.3	19.5
American Indian/Alaska Native	2.51	11.4	17.0	18.1	18.1	35.3

English literature and composition, Total¹	2.84	6.5	19.8	33.9	30.7	9.1
White	3.03	7.6	23.4	37.7	27.0	4.3
Black	1.99	1.0	5.4	17.9	43.4	32.4
Hispanic	2.27	2.1	8.9	24.6	42.8	21.6
Asian/Asian American	2.94	8.2	21.3	33.8	29.8	6.9
American Indian/Alaska Native	2.44	2.6	11.0	29.6	41.7	15.0

U.S. history, Total¹	2.57	8.5	18.2	21.4	25.5	26.5
White	2.73	9.5	20.3	23.6	26.5	20.1
Black	1.77	2.1	7.0	12.3	22.6	56.0
Hispanic	1.93	3.1	9.0	14.5	24.7	48.8
Asian/Asian American	2.81	12.3	21.6	22.1	22.8	21.2
American Indian/Alaska Native	2.19	3.3	13.4	18.2	29.4	35.7
¹ Total includes other race/ethnicity categories not separately shown. NOTE: Calculus AB, English literature and composition, and U.S. history are some of the most frequently taken AP exams (The College Board 2005). The grades for all AP examinations range from 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest score. Data reported are for all students who completed an Advanced Placement exam. The College Board collects racial/ethnic information based on the following categories: American Indian/Alaskan, Asian/Asian American, Black/Afro-American, Latino (Chicano/Mexican, Puerto Rican, Other Latino), White, and Other. Black refers to test-takers who identified themselves as Black/Afro-American, and Hispanic refers to the sum of all Latino subgroups. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. SOURCE: The College Board, Advanced Placement Program, National Summary Report,2008.