Figure 4.8. Average scores on Advanced Placement (AP) tests, by subject and race/ethnicity: 2003

1 Averages combined from Calculus AB and Calculus BC examinations. NOTE: The College Board collects racial/ethnic information based on the categories American Indian/Alaskan, Asian/Asian American, Black/Afro-American, Latino: Chicano/Mexican, Puerto Rican, Other Latino, White, and Other. Black, non-Hispanic refers to test-takers who identified themselves as Black/Afro-American, and Hispanic refers to the sum of all Latino subgroups. Pacific Islander may or may not be included in Asian/Asian American. The scores for all AP examinations range from 0 to 5. SOURCE: The College Board, Advanced Placement Program, National Summary Report 2003.

Students who take Advanced Placement (AP) courses in high school are eligible to take the corresponding AP examination and may earn college credit for scores above a minimum threshold. Currently, there are 34 AP exams available across 19 subject areas. Between 1999 and 2003, the number of American Indian/Alaska Native students taking AP exams in the 12th grade increased 25 percent, which was a lower rate of increase than that for students overall (35 percent). Over the same time period, each other racial/ethnic group increased in both the number of test-takers and the percentage those test-takers represented in their race/ethnicity's 12th-grade population.

American Indian/Alaska Native students scored, on average, consistently below the national average, but above Black students on the calculus, English language and composition, chemistry, and U.S. history AP examinations.

View Table 4.8a

View Table 4.8b