2018 IDAHO ADVANCED PLACEMENT PERFORMANCE
EXCEEDS NATIONAL AVERAGE
Recently, Idaho Education News reporter Kevin Richert wrote an article about Advanced Placement performance in the state of Idaho. His lead:
"Idaho high school students can take Advanced Placement tests on the taxpayer’s dime — but Idaho’s AP numbers still remain well below the national average."
Advanced Placement Participation, Passing Percentages
Advanced Placement Participation, Passing Percentages
Well, an analysis of 2018 statewide AP passing percentages tells a different story - Idaho's percentage of passing exams is just a tiny bit higher than the national average. And Idaho's and Boise's number of participants in AP testing is up substantially over the past few years.
Here's a summary of how the top AP 2018 participation percentages and passing rates compared for Idaho high schools with more than 75 participants. Remember that we use 10-12 enrollment to gauge AP participation rates.
These participation percentages were derived by dividing the number of 2018 AP participants by the combined enrollment in grades 10, 11, and 12. It's interesting to consider the derived percentages in comparison with the statewide percentage, which is 11%. So the efforts that these high schools have made in providing opportunities for rigor are impressive.
The Idaho pass rate for Advanced Placement exams in 2018 was 59%. However, since only 11% of students statewide took an AP exam, you'd expect the percentage to be high compared with some of these schools, in which at least 25% of the students in the high schools were participants in the testing program. Nationally, the passing percentage was 58%. Advanced Placement exams are rigorous and challenging - only 6 of 10 student exams receive a score eligible for college credit, as opposed to other programs in which students receive credit based on a course grade.
Outside of the top ten, other high schools with over 20% AP participation were Centennial (West Ada) at 23%, Lewiston (22%), Sandpoint (22%), Moscow (21%), and Rocky Mountain (West Ada), 20%.
Most Popular AP Exams
As you might expect, since Boise students took 34% of the statewide AP exams, when we look at individual exams, our students took the lion's share in many cases. It's interesting to look at the relative strengths and weaknesses on some of the exams.
Boise students' pass rates exceeded those of the state of Idaho and the nation by at least 5% on English Language, Psychology, and World History, and exceeded both in Calculus AB and US History. On the English Literature, Physics 1, Statistics, and US Government exams, Boise students' pass rates were about the same as the state, or a bit lower.
Boise and Idaho pass rates were more than 15 percent higher than the nation on the Physics 1 exam, and more than 10 percent higher on English Language and English Literature exams. Interestingly, both were almost 10 percent lower on the Statistics exam.
As you can see from the chart above, Boise students took over a third of state AP exams in 2018. The highest percentage of state exams taken by District students were in Psychology (56%) , World History (43%) and Calculus AB (35%).
The Idaho pass rate for Advanced Placement exams in 2018 was 59%. However, since only 11% of students statewide took an AP exam, you'd expect the percentage to be high compared with some of these schools, in which at least 25% of the students in the high schools were participants in the testing program. Nationally, the passing percentage was 58%. Advanced Placement exams are rigorous and challenging - only 6 of 10 student exams receive a score eligible for college credit, as opposed to other programs in which students receive credit based on a course grade.
Outside of the top ten, other high schools with over 20% AP participation were Centennial (West Ada) at 23%, Lewiston (22%), Sandpoint (22%), Moscow (21%), and Rocky Mountain (West Ada), 20%.
Most Popular AP Exams
As you might expect, since Boise students took 34% of the statewide AP exams, when we look at individual exams, our students took the lion's share in many cases. It's interesting to look at the relative strengths and weaknesses on some of the exams.
Boise students' pass rates exceeded those of the state of Idaho and the nation by at least 5% on English Language, Psychology, and World History, and exceeded both in Calculus AB and US History. On the English Literature, Physics 1, Statistics, and US Government exams, Boise students' pass rates were about the same as the state, or a bit lower.
As you can see from the chart above, Boise students took over a third of state AP exams in 2018. The highest percentage of state exams taken by District students were in Psychology (56%) , World History (43%) and Calculus AB (35%).
