Participation in Advanced Placement

Over one-third of all ninth graders who started in fall 2009 had taken an AP course by 2013 (36.2 percent). Roughly two-thirds of Asian students had taken an AP course (67.0 percent), compared with roughly one in five Black or African American students (22.5 percent), the highest and lowest shares across all groups.

Among the over 3 million public high school graduates in 2013, 31.7 percent had taken an AP exam. Asian or Pacific Islander graduates were much more likely to have taken an AP exam (60.2 percent) than other racial or ethnic groups. Nearly one-third of all White graduates had taken an AP exam (31.3 percent), as did 29.4 percent of Hispanic or Latino, 20.4 percent of American Indian or Alaska Native, and 20.0 percent of Black or African American graduates.

Percentage of the Fall 2009 High School Cohort That Took an AP Course by 2013, by Race and Ethnicity
Percentage of All Public High School Class of 2013 Graduates Who Have Taken an AP Exam

Report Links

Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education: 2020 Supplement
Chapter One: Pre-college Academic Experiences

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Source

College Board, AP Report to the Nation: Appendix C, 2013

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Digest of Education Statistics 2019, Table 219.30

Data Notes

Data on AP courses reflect all students in the fall 2009 high school cohort, inclusive of public and private high schools. Data on AP exams include only 2013 high school graduates at public high schools.

Data on AP exams include only 2013 high school graduates at public high schools.

! Interpret with caution. Ratio of standard error to estimate is >30% but <50%.