More state high school students pass placement tests

OLYMPIA -- About a quarter of Washington high school students took an Advanced Placement exam in 2007, an increase of about 74 percent in the past five years.

According to a national report released Wednesday, more Washington high school students also earned a good enough score to earn college credit for their high school work.

The College Board's fourth annual Advanced Placement report shows 24,776 students in Washington's public schools scored at least a three on at least one AP exam in 2007. Three is considered a passing score, and the highest possible score is five.

That's an increase of 14.4 percent from the passing rate in 2006. Nationally, passing rates increased 9.3 percent.

"Increasing participation and rising scores are measurable testaments to the great teaching and learning going on here in Washington," state Superintendent of Public Instruction Terry Bergeson said in a statement. "They tell us that if we raise expectations, students will rise to meet those expectations."

Washington participation in the exams was up among all minority groups except black students. Most students who take the AP exams first take a class focused on the material tested.

State education officials are using federal education grants to improve AP test participation by minority and low-income students in rural schools. Grants totaling $1.3 million over the past three years have lowered the cost of each test from $84 to $5 for low-income students.