Florida getting excellent grades on AP exams
GARY FINEOUT
Miami Herald
Feb 7, 2007
TALLAHASSEE - Florida's 7-year-old push to boost the number of students who take rigorous Advanced Placement tests has made the the state a leader in the nation.
A report released Tuesday showed that more high school seniors in Florida -- 36.4 percent -- took the challenging tests that can result in college credit.
More important, the third annual Advanced Placement Report to the Nation placed Florida seventh in the nation in the percentage of seniors who received passing grades on the tests. More than 19 percent of high school seniors who took an AP exam in 2006 scored a 3 or better on the five-point scale.
The report pointed out that more than a dozen schools in Miami-Dade and Broward counties had the largest number of Hispanic or black students earn passing scores on the comprehensive exams given each May.
Under former Gov. Jeb Bush, Florida beefed up the number of school districts and schools that offered AP courses in subjects as diverse as physics, English and U.S. history. The state is spending $7.2 million this year to coax teachers and school districts to offer AP courses. Teachers are also eligible for a $50 bonus for each of their student who earns a passing grade of 3 or better on AP exams.
''Florida has made a big effort in investing in AP,'' said Gaston Caperton, president of The College Board, which administers the AP exams. ``The data confirms the success.''
Caperton praised Weston's Cypress Bay High School, which has a large Hispanic population and has seen its AP calculus enrollment grow from eight students five years ago to 185 students today.
Fifteen schools in Florida, including 13 in Broward and Miami-Dade, got high marks for the passing rates of their students on numerous AP courses.
Coral Reef Senior High in Southwest Dade had the highest number of Hispanic students in the nation who earned passing grades on three AP exams, including English Literature and Composition, while Coral Park Senior High had the highest number of Hispanics in the nation who passed exams in chemistry and physics. Design and Architecture Senior High in Miami had the largest number of black and Hispanic students who passed the AP exam in studio art.
Stranahan High in Fort Lauderdale had the highest number of black students nationally who scored a 3 or above on the AP psychology exam. Broward high schools have been encouraging students to try advanced placement classes, even if they weren't prototypical high-performing students with high grade-point averages and strong standardized test scores.
''There was a profile that we used to look for, but now successful means exposure,'' said Deborah Owens, principal of Stranahan High. ``Exposing the kids to college courses is a newer philosophy.''
The number of blacks statewide taking the AP test lags behind that of both white and Hispanic students. Only about 11 percent of black high school seniors in Florida took AP exams in 2006, compared to 24.2 percent of Hispanic seniors. That percentage puts Florida behind many other southern states.
