Maryland and Virginia’s high school classes of 2009 led the nation on college-level Advanced Placement exams, carried largely by the strength and size of Montgomery and Fairfax counties.

For the second year in a row, Maryland had the nation’s highest percentage of graduating seniors scoring a passing mark on the tests eligible for college credit at many universities. Nearly 25 percent of Maryland seniors passed at least one AP test in high school, compared with 23 percent in third-place Virginia. New York placed second at 24 percent.

Recommended Stories

Maine AFL-CIO calls Susan Collins campaigning with Joe Manchin ‘insulting’

Migrant caravan on ‘faith and hope’ journey toward US border

More people want victims of botched executions to serve life sentences than retry execution: Poll