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August 25, 2009 Alabama Leads Nation in Statewide Gains Made in AP Participation and Performance  Gov. Bob Riley speaks during an event at Clay-Chalkville High School in Pinson, Ala., announcing that Alabama leads the nation in gains made in Advanced Placement participation and performance. BIRMINGHAM - Alabama schools again made giant strides in Advanced Placement education last year, posting gains greater than every other state in participation and performance on AP tests. Alabama also made huge gains in AP test scores by minority students. According to The College Board, which administers AP tests nationally, Alabama had the greatest percentage increase in the number of students taking the AP exam at 24.5 percent. Alabama also bested every other state in the increase of AP college credit qualifying test scores at 21.1 percent. Governor Riley announced the success during an event at Clay-Chalkville High School in Pinson, Alabama today, joined by leaders from the National Math and Science Initiative, Alabama Department of Education, and the A+ Education Partnership. “If you want to see how far Alabama has come in education, just look at theses results,” said Governor Riley. “The progress is phenomenal, and I want everyone to appreciate the hard work of our young people and our teachers. Every time we challenge our students and teachers they end up exceeding our expectations and setting the pace for the nation. “Our young people today don’t want to just look for jobs - they want to train for careers. We’re laying the foundation for a world-class education system to allow our students to do just that.”
Increase in students making qualifying (3-5) scores by subgroup
Thanks to a $13.2 million grant from the National Math and Science Initiative, Alabama’s A+ College Ready in 2008 implemented a pilot program aimed at improving Advanced Placement participation and performance in 12 Alabama high schools. Those schools led their peers nationwide, increasing student success on AP exams in math, science and English by 81 percent. AP participation in A+ College Ready schools increased by 1678 exams, or 202 percent.
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