We Need More Kids of Color Scoring 4s and 5s on AP Exams

On Sunday, The Washington Post released its most recent Advanced Placement rankings for local high schools. For those of you who follow the rankings, Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School is the highest ranked Montgomery County public school (coming in at No. 2 out of 195 ranked local high schools), and Clarksburg High School is the lowest ranked Montgomery County public school (coming in at No. 103). If you missed the print version, click here to view the area rankings.

I really have little to say about the rankings. I’m not opposed to them. And if Jay Mathews—the father of the Index—had not started it someone else probably would have. Americans love rankings and ratings.

I do have one thing to point out here. On page 4 of Sunday’s Post Index insert the following was noted: “Research has found that even low-performing students who got only a 2 on an AP test did significantly better in college than similar students who did not take AP.”

In general, this statement is true; however, I think without any real numbers it misleads us down a path that might be a little too rosy for low-performing students.

Here are two specific reports that provide readers with some numbers:

• This report was issued by the College Board in 2008.
• This report was released by Montgomery County Public Schools in April.

Here is what the College Board uncovered when it looked at college graduation rates against AP scores. The college graduation rate for students with AP scores of 4s and 5s is roughly 50 percent. For those with 3s it is 44 percent; with 2s, 32 percent; and with 1s, 21 percent. The graduation rate is 12 percent for those with no AP course work and 24 percent for students enrolled in dual high school/college programs. (These are programs where students actually enrolled in real college courses.) When race is factored in, kids of color have the lowest graduation rates regardless of AP exam performance.

Here is what MCPS uncovered when it looked at college graduation rates against scores: Overall, 83 percent of graduates from the Class of 2003 with a score of 3 or higher on an AP exam graduated from college within six years (see page 56). In contrast, 41 percent of those with exam scores below a 3 graduated from college within six years.

There are variations for the different MCPS racial or ethnic groups. For example, a mere 19 percent of the Latino graduates with scores lower than a 3 managed to graduate from college. Since MCPS does not show us outcomes by specific scores—it groups graduates into two larger groups only—it is difficult to actually say how well MCPS graduates with scores of 2 perform versus those with scores of 1, 3, or 4.

I think it is really important to point out that even with a few AP courses on their transcripts, low-performing high school graduates struggle to graduate from college, especially the ones of color. So, if we expect their AP experiences to provide more of a bounce then we need to make sure they perform at higher levels.

Frankly, that means we need way more black and Latino MCPS graduates scoring 4s and 5s on their AP exams. Settling for anything less is just settling for and accepting mediocrity.