Valley school leaders strive to up AP test scores

Published online on Saturday, Oct. 03, 2009

An increasing number of Valley high schools students are taking rigorous Advanced Placement classes. But many lag far behind the state average on a critical measure: success at passing the tests to earn college credit.

Local educators say students who take AP classes -- with or without the end-of-the-year tests -- are better prepared for college. They also earn more points for their GPAs.

But getting more students to pass the AP exam is still the ultimate goal.

A student who earns at least a 3 out of a possible 5 on the AP English literature test, for example, could fulfill a college English class requirement. Some students earn enough AP credit to enter college as sophomores -- saving a year's worth of tuition.

So in addition to pushing more students to take AP classes, school leaders in the Valley are working to improve their performance on the tests.

"Not only do we want more kids in AP classes, but we also want to see better results," said Chris Evans, associate superintendent of secondary education for Fresno Unified School District.

State statistics show that about 16% of juniors and seniors in the five-county central San Joaquin Valley took AP tests in 2007-08, lagging the state average by about 7 percentage points. They fell even further behind in test performance, with about 44% earning a score of 3 or better, which is generally required for college credit. The state average was about 57%.

Districts calculate AP statistics in slightly different ways, but come up with a similar picture: most local districts need to improve both participation and passing rates.

Fresno Unified has seen the percentage of exams earning a score of 3 or better drop. In the last school year, 37% of the district's AP exams earned a 3 or higher, down from 47% in 2005-06.

By contrast, Central Unified School District in Fresno, which has sharpened its focus on AP programs, saw its percentage of 3-or-higher scores double to 44% last spring.

In California, about 60% of AP exams earned a 3 or higher last school year; nationally, it was about 59%, according to the College Board, a nonprofit that administers and oversees the test nationally.

Fresno Unified is now using a $950,000 federal AP incentive grant to help boost participation and provide more student tutoring and training for teachers. The district also is working with the College Board to improve scores.

"We have targeted tutoring at every high school in the district, to provide hours every week for AP students to work with AP teachers who stay beyond the normal course of the day," Evans said.

Evans said staffers are helping identify students with high standardized test scores who could benefit from AP classes. They are promoting AP to parents too. Currently, 2,973 Fresno Unified students are enrolled in AP classes -- up from 2,341 last fall.

In Central Unified the number of AP students dropped from 630 two school years ago to 456 last year, and the district is trying to boost enrollment. However, a higher percentage -- 80%-- of the district's AP students opted to take the spring test -- which is optional -- and more of them earned a 3 or better.

The district saw the number of tests earning a 3 or better double after adding teacher training, holding routine practice tests with students and providing additional tutoring, said Laurel Ashlock, Central Unified's chief academic officer. There were student-study sessions outside of school hours that allowed AP students to help one another and a special parents' information night to talk about expectations.