FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, September 26, 2000

More minority students in Fairfax County Public Schools are taking the Advanced Placement (AP) exams and are getting better scores than they did in 1999, according to results of the May 2000 examinations.

While the total number of FCPS students taking the AP examinations dipped slightly, from 8,862 in 1999 to 8,547 students in 2000, (Table 2), the data show that not only did the number of minority students taking the exams increase, but the number of individual exams that each minority student took also increased, and, for the most part, minority students scored higher than last year. For example, 389 Black students took 638 AP exams in 1999. In 2000, 400 Black students took 664 AP exams. Average test scores for Black students rose from 2.35 in 1999 to 2.40 in 2000.

The number of Hispanic students taking the exams also rose, from 490 in 1999 to 500 in 2000. They also took more tests, 860, up from 802 in 1999. (Table 3 and Table 1). However, while more Hispanic students took more exams in May 2000, their average mean score decreased slightly from 3.20 in 1999 to 3.15 in 2000, still well above the national average score, for all students, of 3.02.

“These results are very encouraging,” noted Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Daniel Domenech. “We are seeing a rise in the number of minority students taking the exams and in the number of exams they are taking, and, most impressively, minority students are, in many cases, also scoring higher. This year there were substantial increases in the number of minority students scoring 3.0 or better.”

The total number of AP exams taken by all students in Fairfax County Public Schools was 17,000, up from 16,986 in 1999. The average test score rose from 2.98 to 3.0 (Table 1). The average score nationwide is 3.02.

Overall data show that the percentage of test scores of 3.0 or above increased from 62 percent in 1999 to 63 percent in 2000. This compares to 64 percent nationwide.

The data also show that, because more test takers indicated their ethnicity this year (8,307 out of 8,547 test takers responded), there is a higher level of accuracy for the minority-exam data. Last year, 1,129 test takers did not report their races. (Table 3).

The Advanced Placement (AP) examinations of the College Entrance Examination Board measure college-level achievement of students from more than 3,300 high schools across the nation. These examinations are not required but are taken voluntarily by students applying, in advance, for college credits. Examinations are offered in English, history, sciences, psychology, mathematics, foreign languages, computer science, music, and art. On each examination, students must demonstrate mastery of a full year’s objectives during a three-hour national examination. In all subjects except art, examinations contain both multiple-choice questions and free response questions that require essay writing and problem solving.

May 1999 was the first time the Fairfax County School Board required that students taking AP courses also take the exams. The school system now pays for students to take the tests.

As in the past 14 administrations of the test, United States History (2,530) was the test most frequently taken. Government and Politics: United States (2,442) was the next most frequently taken test (Table 4). The number of tests taken in art, music, and foreign language decreased from 2,259 in 1999 to 1,858 in 2000, which mirrors the increasing emphasis on the core areas of English language, math, history, and science.

Average scores were based on the following grade scale: five equals extremely well qualified, four equals well qualified, three equals qualified, two equals possibly qualified, and one equals no recommendation.

The examinations are administered in the county’s high schools each May, under the direction of the Educational Testing Service (ETS) in Princeton, New Jersey.

Table 1 - FCPS Results for All Advanced Placement (AP) Examinations
Table 2 - Number and Percent of Students Tested by Grade Level
Table 3 - Number and Percent of Students Tested by Ethnicity
Table 4 - Examinations by Subject Mean Scores, Percent at/or Above 3, and Number of Tests Taken

Last update: September 26, 2000
Curator: Jill Kurtz -- Jill.Kurtz@fcps.edu