Skip Navigation
Digest of Education Statistics
2011 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 163. Number and percentage of public high school graduates taking dual credit, Advanced Placement (AP), and International Baccalaureate (IB) courses in high school and average Carnegie units earned, by selected student and school characteristics: 2005 and 2009
Year and student or school characteristic Number of graduates who earned credits in
dual credit, AP, or IB courses
Percentage of graduates who earned credits in dual credit, AP, or IB courses Average total credits2  in dual credit, AP, and IB courses per graduate taking such courses
Total Dual credit courses1 AP courses IB courses Total Dual credit courses1 AP courses IB courses
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
2005, all public high
        school graduates
842,000 (23,800) 216,000   (14,900) 695,000 (20,700) 44,000   (12,600) 34.9 (0.79) 8.9   (0.60) 28.8 (0.68) 1.8   (0.53) 1.04 (0.043)
                                           
Sex                                            
Male 367,000 (12,100) 98,000   (7,600) 294,000 (10,200) 21,000 ! (6,400) 31.2 (0.83) 8.4   (0.63) 25.0 (0.70) 1.8 ! (0.55) 0.94 (0.046)
Female 475,000 (14,100) 117,000   (8,000) 401,000 (12,500) 22,000   (6,500) 38.3 (0.89) 9.5   (0.64) 32.3 (0.78) 1.8   (0.53) 1.13 (0.045)
                                           
Race/ethnicity                                            
White 603,000 (20,900) 165,000   (12,500) 490,000 (18,700) 30,000 ! (9,900) 36.7 (0.95) 10.0   (0.73) 29.8 (0.86) 1.8 ! (0.60) 1.08 (0.047)
Black 72,000 (4,700) 16,000   (2,600) 60,000 (4,300) 5,000   (1,100) 21.8 (1.09) 4.7   (0.80) 18.3 (0.97) 1.4   (0.34) 0.55 (0.044)
Hispanic 100,000 (6,400) 23,000   (3,300) 84,000 (5,800) 4,000 ! (1,300) 33.8 (1.43) 7.7   (1.10) 28.5 (1.29) 1.3 ! (0.45) 0.93 (0.073)
Asian/Pacific
     Islander
56,000 (5,100) 10,000   (1,400) 51,000 (4,800) 4,000 ! (2,000) 52.0 (2.37) 9.2   (1.25) 47.2 (2.25) 3.9 ! (1.79) 2.12 (0.174)
American Indian/Alaska
     Native
5,000 (900) 1,000 ! (400) 4,000 (800)   (†) 22.3 (3.83) 5.6 ! (2.00) 17.4 (3.45)   (†) 0.51 (0.131)
                                           
Combined Black and Hispanic
   enrollment in school
                                           
Less than 5 percent 231,000 (19,200) 60,000   (9,500) 189,000 (17,100)   (†) 31.4 (1.62) 8.2   (1.20) 25.7 (1.49)   (†) 0.77 (0.061)
5 to 50 percent 452,000 (23,400) 126,000   (12,400) 363,000 (18,800) 31,000 ! (11,100) 38.1 (1.29) 10.6   (1.04) 30.6 (0.91) 2.6 ! (0.94) 1.22 (0.075)
More than 50 percent 152,000 (11,400) 24,000   (4,800) 138,000 (10,600) 10,000 ! (3,200) 31.8 (1.30) 5.1   (0.94) 28.9 (1.23) 2.1 ! (0.68) 0.96 (0.069)
                                           
School enrollment size                                            
Less than 500 65,000 (8,900) 36,000   (7,300) 41,000 (6,200)   (†) 25.6 (2.73) 14.1   (2.66) 16.2 (1.89)   (†) 0.83 (0.230)
500 to 1,499 309,000 (21,200) 78,000   (9,200) 252,000 (17,500) 19,000 ! (8,000) 33.6 (1.30) 8.5   (0.93) 27.4 (1.13) 2.1 ! (0.83) 1.00 (0.077)
1,500 or more 384,000 (25,200) 81,000   (12,100) 331,000 (21,600) 21,000 ! (9,400) 38.7 (1.38) 8.2   (1.14) 33.4 (1.14) 2.1 ! (0.95) 1.16 (0.061)
                                           
Region                                            
Northeast 128,000 (9,600) 13,000 ! (4,900) 119,000 (8,300)   (†) 26.6 (1.70) 2.7 ! (1.01) 24.6 (1.43)   (†) 0.80 (0.079)
Midwest 196,000 (10,500) 53,000   (7,100) 158,000 (10,700)   (†) 34.7 (1.62) 9.4   (1.32) 27.9 (1.59)   (†) 0.87 (0.062)
South 300,000 (15,500) 92,000   (12,200) 241,000 (10,300) 24,000 ! (8,300) 36.7 (1.42) 11.3   (1.38) 29.5 (0.94) 2.9 ! (1.01) 1.20 (0.100)
West 218,000 (15,100) 57,000   (10,300) 178,000 (10,500) 17,000 ! (8,000) 39.8 (1.98) 10.4   (1.72) 32.4 (1.43) 3.1 ! (1.45) 1.17 (0.089)
                                           
Percent of students
   eligible for free or
   reduced-price lunch
                                           
0 to 25 percent 410,000 (26,700) 102,000   (14,800) 344,000 (23,200) 22,000 ! (10,500) 39.3 (1.36) 9.8   (1.32) 32.9 (1.27) 2.1 ! (1.00) 1.24 (0.083)
26 to 50 percent 223,000 (19,400) 67,000   (10,700) 174,000 (13,900) 13,000 ! (4,300) 32.0 (1.55) 9.6   (1.31) 24.9 (1.16) 1.9 ! (0.62) 0.91 (0.058)
More than 50 percent 103,000 (10,100) 22,000   (4,900) 89,000 (8,700) 6,000 ! (2,500) 28.3 (1.83) 5.9   (1.32) 24.5 (1.46) 1.6 ! (0.69) 0.77 (0.066)
School did not partici-
     pate or data missing
105,000 (13,900) 25,000   (5,500) 88,000 (12,300)   (†) 34.4 (2.39) 8.2   (1.72) 28.8 (2.04)   (†) 0.94 (0.092)
                                           
2009, all public high
        school graduates
1,104,000 (36,400) 249,000   (20,700) 968,000 (33,900) 50,000   (10,500) 41.4 (1.00) 9.3   (0.76) 36.3 (0.94) 1.9   (0.40) 1.39 (0.051)
                                           
Sex                                            
Male 477,000 (17,900) 110,000   (10,800) 413,000 (16,200) 21,000   (4,900) 36.8 (1.05) 8.5   (0.80) 31.9 (0.98) 1.7   (0.38) 1.24 (0.057)
Female 628,000 (20,100) 139,000   (10,700) 554,000 (19,100) 29,000   (5,800) 45.8 (1.07) 10.1   (0.78) 40.4 (1.01) 2.1   (0.43) 1.53 (0.049)
                                           
Race/ethnicity                                            
White 702,000 (25,700) 160,000   (16,300) 617,000 (23,700) 29,000   (7,100) 42.5 (1.04) 9.7   (1.00) 37.3 (0.95) 1.8   (0.43) 1.41 (0.049)
Black 106,000 (6,600) 25,000   (3,700) 86,000 (5,100) 7,000   (1,700) 27.3 (1.50) 6.4   (0.99) 22.2 (1.00) 1.7   (0.44) 0.75 (0.054)
Hispanic 170,000 (9,300) 46,000   (5,900) 144,000 (7,800) 7,000   (2,000) 39.8 (1.45) 10.8   (1.18) 33.8 (1.30) 1.6   (0.47) 1.17 (0.059)
Asian/Pacific
     Islander
115,000 (14,800) 15,000   (2,300) 111,000 (14,800) 7,000   (1,900) 69.1 (2.36) 9.2   (1.46) 66.3 (2.56) 4.1 ! (1.23) 3.25 (0.263)
American Indian/Alaska
     Native
4,000 (900) 1,000 ! (400) 3,000 (900)   (†) 25.0 (3.97) 7.0 ! (2.20) 20.3 (3.74)   (†) 0.79 (0.187)
                                           
Combined Black and Hispanic
   enrollment in school
                                           
Less than 5 percent 239,000 (28,100) 45,000   (13,300) 209,000 (25,500)   (†) 35.9 (2.27) 6.8   (1.92) 31.5 (2.13)   (†) 1.01 (0.102)
5 to 50 percent 601,000 (38,100) 132,000   (15,000) 533,000 (35,200) 32,000   (8,400) 45.4 (1.36) 10.0   (0.96) 40.3 (1.34) 2.5   (0.62) 1.64 (0.092)
More than 50 percent 265,000 (17,900) 72,000   (10,800) 225,000 (15,900) 13,000   (3,600) 39.0 (1.55) 10.6   (1.47) 33.1 (1.34) 1.9   (0.52) 1.26 (0.063)
                                           
School enrollment size                                            
Less than 500 93,000 (12,500) 46,000   (9,400) 61,000 (9,000)   (†) 28.2 (3.13) 13.9   (2.77) 18.3 (2.19)   (†) 0.90 (0.199)
500 to 1,499 355,000 (28,300) 71,000   (11,500) 314,000 (27,900) 6,000 ! (2,100) 36.8 (1.50) 7.4   (1.11) 32.5 (1.73) 0.7 ! (0.21) 1.13 (0.100)
1,500 or more 551,000 (32,800) 111,000   (16,200) 500,000 (30,600) 35,000   (8,600) 47.6 (1.24) 9.6   (1.40) 43.1 (1.14) 3.0   (0.70) 1.71 (0.066)
                                           
School locale                                            
City 354,000 (27,500) 81,000   (10,200) 311,000 (24,300) 28,000   (8,100) 48.1 (2.03) 11.0   (1.26) 42.3 (1.78) 3.8   (1.05) 1.72 (0.105)
Suburb 434,000 (26,300) 81,000   (14,800) 396,000 (25,300) 13,000   (3,200) 44.4 (1.52) 8.3   (1.51) 40.6 (1.51) 1.4   (0.33) 1.60 (0.102)
Town 120,000 (14,800) 31,000   (6,900) 101,000 (13,700)   (†) 35.8 (2.05) 9.4   (1.88) 30.3 (2.06)   (†) 0.99 (0.073)
Rural 197,000 (17,100) 56,000   (8,000) 159,000 (16,700)   (†) 31.7 (2.02) 9.0   (1.47) 25.7 (1.77)   (†) 0.89 (0.064)
                                           
Region                                            
Northeast 220,000 (17,600) 46,000   (13,500) 198,000 (15,900) 5,000 ! (1,800) 40.9 (2.54) 8.5   (2.52) 37.0 (2.20) 0.9 ! (0.34) 1.28 (0.120)
Midwest 224,000 (13,500) 40,000   (8,000) 194,000 (12,500)   (†) 35.4 (2.00) 6.4   (1.30) 30.6 (1.86)   (†) 0.98 (0.078)
South 385,000 (17,100) 128,000   (12,400) 320,000 (16,800) 16,000   (4,500) 43.8 (1.24) 14.5   (1.37) 36.4 (1.30) 1.9   (0.53) 1.64 (0.084)
West 275,000 (25,800) 35,000   (7,200) 255,000 (25,200) 17,000 ! (5,800) 44.7 (2.34) 5.7   (1.14) 41.4 (2.41) 2.8 ! (0.92) 1.54 (0.165)
                                           
Percent of students
   eligible for free or
   reduced-price lunch
                                           
0 to 25 percent 481,000 (39,800) 91,000   (16,000) 442,000 (37,100) 14,000 ! (6,400) 48.8 (1.83) 9.3   (1.56) 44.9 (1.72) 1.5 ! (0.63) 1.75 (0.108)
26 to 50 percent 311,000 (24,700) 77,000   (11,900) 261,000 (21,600) 18,000 ! (5,700) 37.1 (1.41) 9.2   (1.25) 31.3 (1.40) 2.1 ! (0.69) 1.17 (0.058)
More than 50 percent 193,000 (16,100) 51,000   (8,400) 160,000 (12,900) 16,000 ! (5,900) 34.4 (1.92) 9.1   (1.33) 28.6 (1.64) 2.8 ! (1.02) 1.05 (0.083)
School did not partici-
     pate or data missing
120,000 (17,500) 30,000   (7,600) 104,000 (16,000)   (†) 42.1 (2.84) 10.4   (2.50) 36.5 (2.42)   (†) 1.44 (0.214)
†Not applicable.
!Interpret data with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is 30 percent or greater.
‡Reporting standards not met. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is 50 percent or greater.
1 Dual credit courses are those in which high school students can earn both high school and postsecondary credits for the same course. For 2009, includes some courses for which college credits were conditional upon the student meeting additional requirements. For example, one school offered a consumer economics course for which the student earned college credits only if the student later attended that college and took an advanced consumer economics course there. If the student did not attend that college and take the advanced course, then no college credits would be earned for the course (just the high school credits). In 2009, such conditional college credit courses made up an unweighted 15 percent of the dual credit courses in the sample.
2 Credits are shown in Carnegie units. The Carnegie unit is a standard unit of measurement that represents one credit for the completion of a 1-year course.
NOTE: For a transcript to be included in the analyses, it had to meet three requirements: (1) the graduate graduated with either a standard or honors diploma, (2) the graduate’s transcript contained 16 or more Carnegie credits, and (3) the graduate’s transcript contained more than 0 Carnegie credits in English courses. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Totals include other racial/ethnic groups not separately shown. Percentages are based on unrounded numbers. Each student is counted only once in each column, regardless of the number of courses taken. Students are counted only once in the total columns even if they earned credits in more than one category--e.g., a student may take both AP courses and dual credit courses, or a single course may fall into both the AP and the dual credit categories. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding. Standard errors appear in parentheses.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2005 and 2009 High School Transcript Study (HSTS). (This table was prepared October 2011.)

                        All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest