Press Releases



Wednesday, August 25

Number of AP Exams Taken Continues to Rise in FCPS

Students in Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) are taking more Advanced Placement (AP) examinations, according to data just released by FCPS Superintendent Daniel A. Domenech. In addition, Asian, Hispanic, and White students’ participation reached an all-time high in 2003.

The total number of AP exams taken by all students rose to 20,689, up from 20,236 in 2002 (see Attachment 1). Along with the rise in the number of tests taken is an increase in scores of three or above to 13,278 in 2003, up from 13,089 in 2002 (see Attachment 1).

“Fairfax County has been recognized in Newsweek magazine as having the most challenging high schools in the country,” said Domenech. “All of our eligible high schools were designated as the most demanding public schools in the nation, based on the Washington Post Challenge Index, and more students than ever are taking the challenge and succeeding. I am very pleased to see our highest participation ever–and our best results ever.”

The total number of students taking AP exams was 10,169 in 2003, compared to 10,313 in 2002 (see Attachment 2). The drop in the number of students taking AP exams from 2002 to 2003 is attributed to the opening of International Baccalaureate (IB) programs at Annandale and Lee High Schools during the 2001-02 school year. In 2001-02, 258 Annandale High students took AP tests and 76 took IB tests; in 2002-03, 114 Annandale High students took AP tests and 238 took IB tests. Similarly, in 2001-02, 160 Lee High students took AP tests and 88 took IB tests; in 2002-03, 20 Lee High students took AP tests and 255 took IB tests. A limited number of students take IB tests during the first year of the program because many IB courses are part of a two-year sequence, and exams are given at the end of the second year.

Overall participation of minority students in the AP exams has increased significantly in Fairfax County. The number of students scoring a three or above was at a historical high for Asian students (see Attachment 1). The number of tests taken by Asian students rose from 4,187 in 2002 to 4,491 in 2003, and their average score remained constant, going from 2.95 to 2.96. Scores for Hispanic students dipped slightly from 3.11 to 3.02, while the number of tests taken rose from 1,012 to 1,071. Black students took 726 tests in 2003, down from the historical high of 780 in 2002, with an increase in average test scores from 2.39 in 2002 to 2.42 in 2003.

Some of the biggest gains by students scoring three or above were made in the three Physics exams, increasing by 16 percent in Physics C, Electric and Magnetic; by 13 percent in Physics B; and by 8 percent in Physics C, Mechanics. Other subject areas that showed large gains in the number of students scoring three or above were German Language (19 percent) and Environmental Science (18 percent), which also evidenced the largest increase in participation of any test, increasing by more than 100 percent from 404 exams in 2002 to 902 exams in 2003. (see Attachment 4).

The number of 12th grade students taking the exams increased from 4,683 in 2002 to 4,843 in 2003. Twelfth graders also continued to constitute the largest percentage of test takers, making up 47.6 percent of the tested population (see Attachment 2).

Of the students who indicated their ethnicity, the number of Asian students increased from 1,939 to 1,975; the number of Hispanic students increased from 598 to 622; the number of White students remained relatively stable at 6,428 in 2003 compared to 6,456 in 2002; and the number of Black students decreased from 434 to 404 (see Attachment 3).

###

Note: For more information, contact Ray Diroll, coordinator, FCPS Office of Student Testing, at 703-208-7780.



Attachment 1

FCPS Results for All Advanced Placement (AP) Examinations
Mean Score and Number of Tests Taken and
Percent and Number at or Above 3
2000 Through 2003

 

Mean Score (MS) and Number (N) of

Tests Taken

Percent (%) and Number (N) at

or Above 3

2000

2001

2002

2003

2000

2001

2002

2003

MS

N

MS

N

MS

N

MS

N

%

N

%

N

%

N

%

N

Asian

2.81

3,387

2.88

3,488

2.95

4,187

2.96

4,491

56

1,906

58

2,034

60

2,507

60

2,693

Black

2.40

664

2.47

673

2.39

780

2.42

726

43

288

45

300

42

325

41

301

Hispanic

3.15

860

3.11

825

3.11

1,012

3.02

1,071

64

554

63

519

63

642

60

639

White

3.08

10,741

3.08

11,022

3.16

12,509

3.14

12,859

66

7,063

65

7,162

68

8,559

68

8,725

Other

3.00

900

2.86

867

2.93

1,114

2.86

1,016

63

571

57

497

60

666

57

581

Not Stated

2.96

448

3.08

476

2.96

634

3.08

467

60

270

66

313

62

390

66

307

 

Females

2.94

9,061

2.93

9,301

2.99

10,905

2.98

10,996

57

5,127

60

5,587

62

6,802

62

6,823

Males

3.06

7,939

3.09

8,050

3.15

9,331

3.14

9,693

70

5,525

65

5,238

67

6,287

67

6,455

 

Total

3.00

17,000

3.00

17,351

3.06

20,236

3.05

20,689

63

10,652

62

10,825

65

13,089

64

13,278

 






Attachment 2


FCPS Advanced Placement (AP) Examinations
Number and Percent of Students
Tested by Grade Level
2000 Through 2003

Grade Level

Number by Grade Level

Percent by Grade Level

 2000

 2001

 2002

2003

 2000

 2001

2002

2003

 9 and 10

465

620

1,641

1,450

5.4

7.1

15.9

14.3

 11

3,246

3,100

3,735

3,565

38.0

35.6

36.2

35.1

 12

4,648

4,800

4,683

4,843

54.4

55.1

45.4

47.6

 Other

188

196

254

311

2.2

2.2

2.5

3.0

 All  Students

8,547

8,716

10,313

10,169

-

-

-

-

             


 

 

 

 

 

Attachment 3

FCPS Advanced Placement (AP) Examinations
Number of Students Tested
by Ethnicity*
2000 Through 2003


Ethnicity

Number of Students Tested

 2000

 2001

2002

2003

Asian

1,563

 1,621

1,939

1,975

Black

 400

 381

434

404

Hispanic

 500

 503

598

622

White

 5,435

 5,505

6,456

6,428

Other

 409

 462

553

517

Total

 8,307

 8,472

9,980

9,946

*Numbers represent only those students who took the test and indicated their ethnicity.

 



 


Attachment 4


FCPS Advanced Placement (AP) Examinations by Subject
Mean Scores, Percent at or Above 3,
and Number of Tests Taken
2000 Through 2003  

 Tests

Mean Score

Percent at or Above 3

Number of Tests Taken

2000

2001

2002

2003

2000

2001

2002

2003

2000

2001

2002

2003

English Language and Composition

2.91

2.89

3.07

3.07

61

59

68

70

481

690

1,656

1,627

 English Literature and Composition

3.16

2.98

3.11

3.03

73

64

70

65

2,043

2,022

1,817

2,070

 Math, Calculus AB

2.63

2.60

3.01

2.80

51

51

65

57

1,676

1,656

1,491

1,407

 Math, Calculus BC

3.14

3.44

3.69

3.65

62

73

80

80

1,028

919

900

955

 United States History

2.98

3.00

3.21

3.27

61

61

67

71

2,530

2,420

2,683

2,527

 European History

2.67

2.75

3.04

3.25

55

57

71

75

303

394

306

301

 Gov't. and Politics: United States

3.04

3.03

2.92

2.95

66

66

61

60

2,442

2,759

2,997

3,096

 Gov't. and Politics: Comparative

3.30

3.00

3.20

2.67

75

71

73

57

413

306

229

267

 Economics, Micro

*

3.80

3.74

3.66

*

87

88

78

*

54

34

41

 Economics, Macro

3.29

3.83

4.03

3.81

71

81

94

78

28

52

34

37

 Biology

3.04

2.96

3.13

3.14

61

57

62

60

953

879

919

967

 Chemistry

3.15

3.01

3.04

3.18

67

61

62

67

484

473

662

483

 Physics B

1.91

2.45

2.42

2.68

30

46

46

59

129

135

149

193

 Physics C, Mechanics

2.89

2.96

2.92

3.27

56

62

56

68

412

384

365

350

 Physics C, Electric and Magnetic

3.02

2.87

2.77

3.28

58

55

49

65

261

251

334

249

 Psychology

3.42

3.42

3.51

3.12

72

71

73

62

664

797

1,008

1,039

 Computer Science A

2.57

2.58

2.29

2.13

60

51

43

41

79

96

58

46

 Computer Science AB

3.17

3.47

3.18

3.06

65

76

67

62

601

557

536

449

 French Language

2.72

2.75

3.07

2.95

58

57

70

69

275

260

273

252

 German Language

2.60

2.70

2.75

3.29

45

48

48

67

118

116

88

110

 Latin, Vergil

1.73

2.58

2.26

2.21

23

52

43

39

93

33

70

38

 Latin Literature

 1.68

 2.02

1.52

2.36

 26

 30

15

43

31

92

46

58

 Spanish Language

 3.63

 3.88

3.79

3.81

 82

 85

85

84

674

571

555

694

Spanish Literature

3.44

3.56

3.34

3.07

80

85

77

64

122

93

65

108

Art: History

2.29

2.54

2.52

2.81

40

50

51

61

303

382

356

285

Art: Studio Drawing

2.61

3.03

3.14

2.96

55

59

79

57

38

29

71

56

Art: Studio General

2.88

2.63

-

-

54

42

-

-

65

78

-

-

Music Theory

3.17

3.13

3.29

3.11

70

71

80

67

139

197

152

153

Statistics

2.54

2.64

2.45

2.58

48

50

43

48

553

628

924

1,041

Studio Art: 2-D Design

-

-

2.79

2.75

-

-

62

52

-

-

52

91

Environmental Science

-

-

1.73

2.25

-

-

21

39

-

-

404

902

Human Geography

-

-

3.12

3.20

-

-

70

71

-

-

122

41

World History

-

-

3.17

3.30

-

-

73

77

-

-

853

725

Total All Exams

3.00

3.00

3.06

3.05

63

62

65

64

17,000

17,351

20,236

20,689

           *Summary data are not reported for groups fewer than 25.  

Link to FCPS Home: http://www.fcps.edu

Last update: August 27, 2003
Curator: Therese Payne, therese.payne@fcps.edu