Advanced Placement courses nearly double in popularity in past decade

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Students Julian Lopez, 12th grade, second left; Ben Montalbano, 11th grade, second right; and James Agostino, 12th grade, right; listen during their Advanced Placement (AP) Physics class at Woodrow Wilson High School in Washington, Friday, Feb. 7, 2014. The College Board says in a new report that the number of U.S. public students taking Advanced Placement classes doubled over the last decade. The class of 2013 of took 3.2 million AP exams. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

WASHINGTON – The College Board says in a new report that the number of U.S. public school students taking Advanced Placement classes nearly doubled over the last decade. The class of 2013 took 3.2 million AP exams.

Advanced Placement exams started in the 1950s and offer a way for students to earn college credit while still in high school. Proponents say they help transition students to college and allow graduates to stand out in the college admission process.

Much of the expansion stems from an effort at the district, state and federal levels to make AP classes available to low-income and minority students. The report finds that the number of low-income graduates who took an AP exam has quadrupled in the last decade.

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