Schools

Connecticut Students Take More AP Tests; Scores Fluctuate

While the number of AP tests taken throughout the state are on the rise, the percentage of test scores that qualify for college credit are going up and down.

Advanced Placement test takers, and their scores, are on the rise in the state, according to the Connecticut Department of Education (CSDE).

In north central Connecticut, the majority of districts saw test scores improve, but some saw scores decline as the number of tests taken per student increased.

Advanced Placement (AP) tests  are typically taken following the completion of college-level AP courses at the high school level with the opportunity of earning college credit with a score of 3, 4 or 5 on a 5-point scale.

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According to CSDE's recently released statistics, more than 20,000 Connecticut students took at least one AP exam in 2010, which is an increase compared to the 18,000 who took the exam in 2009. The number of tests taken - one student could take a test in more than one academic discipline, such as English or history - also rose from more than 31,000 to about 35,000.

Statewide, students from various racial or ethnic groups saw an increase in performance on AP exams and the number of test takers, with the exception of American Indian students whose number of test takers decreased by three.

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According to CSDE Spokesman Tom Murphy, AP test scores can greatly benefit high school students.

"Many students want the challenge and also want to establish, for their college applications, that they can perform/compete with the best in the nation," Murphy said.

In doing so, Murphy added, students have access to courses that are "more rigorous than a high school curriculum" and they, with a score of 5 or better, "can save a semester's worth of tuition. That could be as much as $20,000 at some colleges," he said.

To help students prepare for and get a head start on college, the state department has made a major push to increase the number of AP courses offered.

"We are encouraging more AP courses in all high schools, and are providing support in concert with the College Board to provide training for teachers from urban districts to become AP teachers," Murphy said.

"Also, we have worked with the Connecticut Businesses and Industry Association, which secured a foundation grant, to provide resources to urban high schools to start or expand AP course offerings," he said.

Legislation has also added to the number of AP courses in the state. Public Act 10-111 includes a requirement that all high schools in the state offers at least one AP course.

Many towns across the state offer far more than the minimum number of AP courses, and concentrate on AP statistics to track district performance.

Windsor Superintendent of Schools Elizabeth Feser said that a small number of students were in AP classes when she arrived in Windsor nine years ago. To date, the number of Windsor's course offering has grown to include every subject in the core curriculum, and 50-percent of the students in the classes are students of color, she said.

In addition, Feser cites Windsor's increase in the percentage of tests that qualify for college credit. With the investment in college-level courses, Windsor's percentage of scores that are a 3 or high has risen from 42-percent to more than 70-percent in 2010.

Similar results can be seen throughout the area, but not across the board. While the number of test takers has increased in every town, the percentage of tests with a score of 3 or higher has not gone up in every district. In most cases, more tests are being taken for every test taker.

In the region, East Windsor had the largest decline in percentage of test scores of 3 or higher; about 25-percent of East Windsor students earned a score eligible of college credit. Windsor had the largest increase in percentage of test scores of 3 or higher, increasing from 62-percent to roughly 70-percent.

Ellington has seen the most success in college-eligible scoring on AP exams. In 2010, 98-percent of tests taken earned a score of 3 or higher.

 

North-Central Connecticut AP Test Scores                        2009                                                 2010 Distric/Town Test Takers Tests Taken Scores of 3, 4 or 5 % of Test Scores of 3, 4 or 5 Test Takers Tests Taken Scores of 3, 4 or 5 % of Test Scores of 3, 4 or 5 East Windsor 19 25 15 60% 35 63 16 25.4% Ellington 31 36 35 97.2% 43 49 48 98% Enfield 63 76 31 40.8% 57 84 35 41.7% Manchester 189 261 196 75.1% 169 223 167 74% Mansfield*
47 57 54 94.7% 50 64 58 90.6% Somers 96 126 47 37.3% 84 112 46 41.1% Suffield 150 291 221 75.9% 166 333 228 68.5% Tolland 46 53 48 90.6% 58 68 62 91.2% Windsor 144 213 132 62% 157 254 178 70.1% Windsor Locks
43 65 18 27.7% 62 85 25 29.4%

*Statistics are for E.O. Smith High School, which is a regional school.


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