Top 22 School Districts For AP Courses In California: 2017

The number of California high school graduates scoring well on Advanced Placement courses continues to climb, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced recently. In fact, California placed fifth in the nation in the percentage of graduates who scored at least a 3 out of 5 on an AP exam during high school.

A College Board report shows that 42.4 percent of California's public high school graduates in the class of 2016 took an AP exam during high school, up from 30.8 percent of graduates in the class of 2006.

"I applaud and congratulate these outstanding students, their schools and families,” Torlakson said. “It's important to recognize that more students are taking very rigorous, college-level courses and more of them are succeeding.”

AP classes can dramatically change a high school student’s college trajectory. According to the College Board, “By taking an AP course and scoring successfully on the related AP Exam, you can save on college expenses: most colleges and universities nationwide offer college credit, advanced placement, or both, for qualifying AP Exam scores. These credits can allow students to save college tuition, study abroad, or secure a second major.”

In fact, Torlakson’s office calculates that the class of 2016 earned 1,288,956 college credits and a potential cost savings of $401,548,463 by scoring 3 or higher on AP exams.

There are currently three dozen AP courses available, but not all are taught in each district or school. Here is a complete list of courses.

Some school districts do a better job of producing successful AP students. The College Board has included 22 California school districts on its Seventh Annual AP District Honor Roll. The methodology: Districts were chosen for expanding access to AP and increasing the percentages of students scoring a 3 or higher on AP exams:

• Arcadia Unified
• Barstow Unified
• Brawley Union High School District
• Capistrano Unified
• Coast Unified
• Diocese of Orange Education Office
• Dublin Unified
• Firebaugh Las Deltas Unified
• Hayward Unified
• Imperial Unified
• Jurupa Unified
• Live Oak Unified
• Los Alamitos Unified
• Lynwood Unified*
• Orland Unified
• Pierce Joint Unified
• San Ramon Valley Unified
• Selma Unified
• South Monterey County High School District
• Sutter Union High School District
• Tamalpais Union High School District
• Washington Unified

*Lynwood Unified School District received the special distinction of National Medium-Size District Winner

Image via Shutterstock

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