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More students taking, scoring well on AP courses as SAT scores rise, education officials say Wednesday, Aug 30, 2006 By Betsy Turner Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - Scores for Advanced Placement course tests and the SAT are up this year in Arkansas along with participation in the AP program, state education officials announced Tuesday. State Education Commissioner Ken James said 15,706 students took AP exams this spring, up from 13,883 in 2005. The number of students who scored three or higher on the AP exams rose 12.9 percent this year. Students are eligible for college credit at most colleges and universities if they score three or more on their AP exam. SAT reading and math scores were higher as well, although the number of students taking the test fell by 6.9 percent, according to the state Department of Education. James said the increases in the AP results and SAT scores, combined with previously announced higher ACT numbers, mean Arkansas' education system is improving. "The indicators are clearly showing Arkansas is on the right track in terms of education reform," James said at a news conference. Education Department figures showed SAT scores in Arkansas climbed this year although there was a 6.9 percent decrease in students taking the exam. Out of the 1,489 students taking the exam, the average critical reading score was 574 in 2006, an increase of 11 points from 2005. The average math score was 568 this year compared to 552 in 2005. James said the average SAT scores in each category for Arkansas students was significantly higher than the national average. Arkansas students scored an average of 577 on the writing portion of the exam, which had not been on the test previously. The AP participation increase follows the passage of several pieces of legislation giving students greater access to the program, according to Ann Biggers, administrator for the department's Gifted Education program. She said Act 102 of the 2003 special session required the state to begin paying for AP exam fees, which cost $84 each, in May 2005. James said the exam costs have been about $1.5 million thus far. Biggers also said that under the law, each school in the state must offer AP course in four core areas - science, English, math and social studies - by the 2008-2009 school year. Linda Beene, the director of the Arkansas Department of Higher Education, said students taking a rigorous curriculum, which includes AP courses, are better prepared for college. She said 67 percent of students taking AP courses in 2004 enrolled in a college or university in the fall of that year. Out of those students, she said, the retention rate was 87 percent. |
